MoU signed between Zoological Survey of India and the Natural History Museum of United Kingdom

MoU was long overdue and the NHM, London and ZSI, Kolkata are going to be mutually benefited on the faunal diversity research through scientific exchange between the two great institutions and long standing relationship.
ZSI is the umbrella institute for Biodiversity studies in India headquartered in Calcutta and has 16 Regional Centres instituted to cater to the faunal diversity of the various biogeographic areas of India.
Through this MoU both the institutions are committed to implementing the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Fauna (“CITES”), the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”) and relevant national and regional laws and regulations concerning biodiversity.
The NHM, London and ZSI will be working together to collect, study and conserve faunal specimens for science and to create and exchange associated data and images.

India’s Biodiversity

India has only 2.4% of the world's land area but the species diversity in India is 8.1 percent which makes India one of twelve mega diversity countries of the world.
India is one of the megadiverse countries in the world with 45,000 species of plants and more than 100,000 of the animals have been recorded in India. The identified Megadiverse Countries are: United States of America, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Madagascar, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, China, and Australia.
ZSI is the largest repository of Fauna in the entire south and Southeast Asia region