Science & Technology
Biodiversity and Conservation
Ex-situ Conservation: Zoos, Gene Banks and Conservation Breeding
Ex-situ conservation for CGPSC: zoos and CZA, botanical gardens, seed and gene banks, cryopreservation, vulture breeding, Project Cheetah and Chhattisgarh examples.
Prerequisites
- In-situ Conservation: ex-situ is the backup to it, so learn the main strategy first
- Levels of Biodiversity: genetic diversity and genetic erosion
- Biotechnology: tissue culture and DNA techniques used in gene banks
The Hook: Buffaloes from Assam, Seeds in Liquid Nitrogen
Connect
In April 2020, two young wild buffaloes travelled more than a thousand kilometres from Manas National Park in Assam to an enclosure at Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary in Chhattisgarh. The state’s own wild herd had shrunk so far that the forest department was trying to start a breeding group from outside.
Meanwhile, in a cold room at IGKV Raipur and at the national gene bank in New Delhi, seeds of thousands of crop varieties sit at temperatures far below freezing, waiting for the day a breeder needs them.
Both are ex-situ conservation (पर-स्थाने संरक्षण): keeping species or their genes outside their natural habitat.
What are the methods of ex-situ conservation, which institutions run them in India, and when is ex-situ the right choice?
Why it matters: Prelims asks you to classify methods (in-situ or ex-situ), match gene banks with cities and remember key projects (vultures, cheetahs). Mains GS-II asks whether ex-situ methods can save species, with examples.
When Is Ex-situ Needed?
Ex-situ conservation is used when:
- A wild population is too small to survive alone (the wild buffalo in Chhattisgarh; vultures after the diclofenac crash).
- The habitat is being lost faster than it can be protected.
- Genetic material must be stored as insurance (crop landraces, wild relatives of crops).
- Animals are needed for reintroduction into areas where the species has disappeared (cheetah).
- Research, education and public awareness are needed (zoos and botanical gardens).
The CBD (Article 9) says ex-situ measures should complement in-situ conservation, preferably in the country of origin.
Methods of Ex-situ Conservation
| Method | What is kept | Indian example |
|---|---|---|
| Zoological parks (प्राणी उद्यान) and safaris | Living animals | Nandankanan (Odisha); in Chhattisgarh, Nandanvan Jungle Safari (Nava Raipur), Kanan Pendari Zoo (Bilaspur), Maitri Bagh (Bhilai) |
| Botanical gardens (वनस्पति उद्यान) and arboreta | Living plants | Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah (founded 1787; the Great Banyan) |
| Seed banks (बीज बैंक) | Seeds, dried and stored cold | National Genebank, ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi; IGKV Raipur’s rice collection |
| Field gene banks | Living plants of species whose seeds cannot be stored (e.g. many fruit trees, tubers) | Orchards and clonal repositories |
| Cryopreservation (हिमीकरण संरक्षण) | Seeds, embryos, sperm, eggs, pollen, tissues in liquid nitrogen at about −196 °C | NBPGR cryobank; animal gene banks |
| In-vitro / tissue culture | Plant tissues grown on nutrient media (micropropagation) | Rare orchids and medicinal plants |
| DNA and genome banks | DNA, cell lines | LaCONES (Laboratory for the Conservation of Endangered Species), CCMB Hyderabad |
| Conservation breeding centres | Captive breeding for later release | Vulture centres; Great Indian Bustard centre in Jaisalmer; wild buffalo enclosure at Barnawapara |
Seeds: orthodox vs recalcitrant
| Type | Behaviour | Storage | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orthodox seeds | Survive drying and freezing | Seed bank: dried to low moisture, stored at about −18 to −20 °C for the long term | Rice, wheat, most pulses and cereals |
| Recalcitrant seeds | Die when dried | Field gene banks, tissue culture or cryopreservation of embryos | Mango, coconut, jackfruit, cocoa, many tropical trees |
India’s national bureaux for genetic resources (ICAR)
| Bureau | Location | Conserves |
|---|---|---|
| NBPGR (Plant Genetic Resources) | New Delhi | Crop plants and wild relatives (the National Genebank) |
| NBAGR (Animal Genetic Resources) | Karnal (Haryana) | Livestock and poultry breeds |
| NBFGR (Fish Genetic Resources) | Lucknow | Fish |
| NBAIR (Agricultural Insect Resources) | Bengaluru | Insects, including natural enemies of pests |
| NBAIM (Agriculturally Important Microorganisms) | Mau (Uttar Pradesh) | Microbes |
Globally, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault (Norway, opened 2008) stores duplicate “backup” seed samples from gene banks around the world, including India’s.
Zoos and the Central Zoo Authority
- The Central Zoo Authority (CZA, केंद्रीय चिड़ियाघर प्राधिकरण) was set up in 1992 under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, after a 1991 amendment. Every zoo needs CZA recognition to operate.
- The CZA’s aim has shifted from display to conservation breeding: zoos are assigned species for planned breeding programmes.
- Chhattisgarh: Nandanvan Jungle Safari, Nava Raipur, opened on 1 November 2016, is promoted as Asia’s largest man-made jungle safari, with lion, tiger, bear and herbivore safaris. Other facilities include Nandanvan Zoo (Raipur), Kanan Pendari Zoological Garden (Bilaspur) and Maitri Bagh (Bhilai), known for its white tigers.
Conservation Breeding and Reintroduction: Key Cases
1. Vultures (गिद्ध)
- Populations of three Gyps vultures crashed by more than 95% from the 1990s. The cause was diclofenac, a veterinary painkiller in cattle carcasses that causes kidney failure in vultures.
- Veterinary diclofenac was banned in 2006. In 2023, two more veterinary drugs toxic to vultures, ketoprofen and aceclofenac, were also banned for animal use.
- Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore (Haryana), run with the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), began in 2001 and is India’s best-known vulture breeding centre. Captive-bred birds have since been released into the wild.
- The Action Plan for Vulture Conservation 2020–25 set up more breeding centres and “vulture safe zones”.
2. Great Indian Bustard (गोडावण)
- Critically Endangered; the main threat is collision with power lines in Rajasthan and Gujarat.
- A conservation breeding centre at Sam (Jaisalmer, Rajasthan), run with the Wildlife Institute of India, hatches chicks from eggs collected in the wild.
3. Project Cheetah (चीता परियोजना)
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Background | The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. The last recorded wild cheetahs were shot in Koriya (now Chhattisgarh) in December 1947 |
| Launch | 17 September 2022: 8 cheetahs from Namibia released into Kuno National Park (Madhya Pradesh). Described as the first intercontinental translocation of a large wild carnivore |
| Second batch | 12 cheetahs from South Africa, February 2023 |
| Second site | Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh), from April 2025 |
| Third source | 9 cheetahs from Botswana reached Kuno in early 2026 |
| Note | These are African cheetahs; the Asiatic cheetah now survives only in Iran. Numbers change with births and deaths, so quote any total with a date |
4. Wild buffalo in Chhattisgarh
- Native wild herds survive mainly in Udanti-Sitanadi and the Indravati landscape, at a few dozen animals at most, with genetic dilution from domestic buffalo.
- Translocation: two sub-adults from Manas (Assam) to Barnawapara in April 2020; permission for four more females followed in 2023.
- Debate: experts question whether Barnawapara had a historic wild buffalo population and whether the Assam animals are a good genetic match for central India. This is a textbook example of why ex-situ and translocation decisions need genetic study first.
Analysis for Mains: Strengths and Limits of Ex-situ Conservation
Strengths
- Insurance against extinction when habitat or wild numbers collapse (vultures).
- Genetic resources for food security: gene banks supply breeders with traits for drought, flood and pest tolerance.
- Reintroduction stock for restoring lost species (cheetah, captive-bred vultures).
- Research and awareness: zoos and botanical gardens educate millions of visitors.
Limits
- Cost: very high per individual compared with protecting habitat.
- Small gene pools in captivity lead to inbreeding.
- Loss of wild behaviour: captive animals may not hunt, migrate or avoid predators.
- Frozen evolution: stored seeds do not keep adapting to a changing climate, unlike landraces grown on farms.
- No substitute for habitat: release only works if the threat (diclofenac, power lines, poaching) has been removed first.
Conclusion line for answers: ex-situ conservation is a lifeboat, not a destination; it works only when tied to in-situ protection and the removal of the original threat.
Memory Tricks
In-situ vs ex-situ: 'Home vs Hostel'
In-situ = at Home (national parks, sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, sacred groves). Ex-situ = in a Hostel (zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks, cryobanks). A hostel keeps you safe but is not where you grow up.
ICAR bureaux: 'Plants in Delhi, Animals in Karnal, Fish in Lucknow'
P-D, A-K, F-L: “Please Drive, And Keep Fish Live.” Add insects in Bengaluru (Bugs in Bengaluru) and microbes in Mau (Microbes in Mau).
Cheetah timeline: 47-52-22-23-25-26
1947 last shot in Koriya → 1952 declared extinct → 2022 Namibia → 2023 South Africa → 2025 Gandhi Sagar → 2026 Botswana.
Don’t Confuse
| This | vs | That |
|---|---|---|
| Orthodox seeds: survive drying; seed bank | Recalcitrant seeds: die when dried; field gene bank or cryo | |
| Seed bank: about −18 to −20 °C | Cryopreservation: liquid nitrogen, about −196 °C | |
| NBPGR: New Delhi, plants | NBAGR: Karnal, animals | |
| Central Zoo Authority (1992): zoos | NTCA (2006): tiger reserves | |
| Kuno NP: first cheetah site (2022) | Gandhi Sagar WLS: second site (2025); both in MP | |
| Barnawapara: translocated wild buffaloes from Assam | Udanti / Indravati: native wild buffalo herds |
Common Mistakes
Trap 1: biosphere reserves as ex-situ
Biosphere reserves, national parks, sacred groves and tiger reserves are in-situ. Only off-site methods (zoos, gardens, banks, labs) are ex-situ.
Trap 2: Asiatic cheetahs brought to Kuno
The cheetahs came from Namibia, South Africa and Botswana, so they are African cheetahs. The Asiatic cheetah is found only in Iran.
Trap 3: diclofenac banned for humans
The 2006 ban was on veterinary diclofenac (use in animals), because vultures eat cattle carcasses.
Trap 4: last cheetah in Madhya Pradesh
India’s last recorded wild cheetahs were shot in Koriya, now in Chhattisgarh (1947), in the area of today’s Guru Ghasidas National Park, not in Kuno.
Practice
All questions below are original practice questions written in CGPSC style. They are not previous-year questions.
Level 1: Foundation
- In cryopreservation, material is stored in liquid ________ at about ________ °C.
- The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources is located at ________.
- The first batch of cheetahs under Project Cheetah came from ________ in ________.
Answers
- Nitrogen; about −196 °C.
- Karnal (Haryana).
- Namibia; September 2022 (released into Kuno National Park on 17 September 2022).
Level 2: Prelims MCQs
Q1. Consider the following statements:
- Recalcitrant seeds can be stored safely for long periods by drying and freezing them in a seed bank.
- The Central Zoo Authority was set up under the Wild Life (Protection) Act.
- Veterinary use of diclofenac was banned in India because it is toxic to vultures.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Answer and explanation
(b) 2 and 3 only. Recalcitrant seeds (mango, coconut, cocoa) die when dried, so they need field gene banks, tissue culture or cryopreservation of embryos (statement 1 is wrong). The CZA (1992) works under the WPA. Veterinary diclofenac was banned in 2006 after it caused the vulture crash.
Q2. Match List I (Institution) with List II (Location):
| List I | List II |
|---|---|
| A. National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources | 1. Lucknow |
| B. National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources | 2. Karnal |
| C. National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources | 3. New Delhi |
| D. Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre | 4. Pinjore |
- (a) A-3, B-2, C-1, D-4
- (b) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4
- (c) A-1, B-3, C-2, D-4
- (d) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2
Answer and explanation
(b) A-3, B-1, C-2, D-4. NBPGR (with the National Genebank) is in New Delhi; NBFGR in Lucknow; NBAGR in Karnal; the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre for vultures is at Pinjore, Haryana.
Q3. Which of the following are methods of ex-situ conservation?
- Cryopreservation of sperm
- Sacred groves
- Botanical gardens
- Biosphere reserves
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a) 1 and 3 only
- (b) 2 and 4 only
- (c) 1, 2 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 3 and 4 only
Answer and explanation
(a) 1 and 3 only. Cryopreservation and botanical gardens keep organisms or genes away from their natural habitat. Sacred groves and biosphere reserves protect species in their habitat, so they are in-situ.
Q4. Wild water buffaloes were translocated in 2020 from Manas National Park to which protected area of Chhattisgarh for conservation breeding?
- (a) Indravati National Park
- (b) Udanti Wildlife Sanctuary
- (c) Achanakmar Wildlife Sanctuary
- (d) Barnawapara Wildlife Sanctuary
Answer and explanation
(d) Barnawapara. Two sub-adults were brought from Manas (Assam) in April 2020, with permission for four more females in 2023. Udanti and Indravati hold the state’s native wild herds, which makes them tempting wrong options.
Q5. With reference to Project Cheetah, which one of the following is NOT correct?
- (a) The first cheetahs were released into Kuno National Park in September 2022
- (b) The cheetahs brought to India belong to the Asiatic subspecies
- (c) Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary was developed as a second site
- (d) Cheetahs have been brought from more than one African country
Answer and explanation
(b) is NOT correct. The animals came from Namibia (2022), South Africa (2023) and Botswana (2026), so they are African cheetahs. The Asiatic cheetah survives only in Iran. The other three statements are correct.
Level 3: Mains Answer Writing
Q1. (60 words) What is a gene bank? Why does India need one?
Model answer outline
- Definition: a facility that stores genetic material (seeds, tissues, sperm, DNA) outside the habitat: seed banks at about −18 °C; cryobanks at −196 °C.
- India: National Genebank at ICAR-NBPGR, New Delhi; IGKV Raipur’s rice landrace collection (Richharia legacy).
- Need: insurance against genetic erosion; traits for climate-resilient breeding; food security.
Q2. (150–200 words) “Ex-situ conservation is a lifeboat, not a destination.” Examine with Indian examples.
Model answer outline
- Intro: Ex-situ conservation keeps species or genes outside their habitat (zoos, botanical gardens, gene banks, cryobanks). The CBD (Art. 9) treats it as complementary to in-situ.
- Lifeboat role: vulture breeding at Pinjore after the diclofenac crash; Great Indian Bustard eggs at Sam (Jaisalmer); National Genebank (NBPGR) and IGKV Raipur’s rice collection against genetic erosion.
- Why not a destination: high cost, small gene pools, loss of wild behaviour, seeds that stop adapting, and no use if the original threat continues.
- Linking to the wild: vultures released only after the diclofenac ban (2006) and later bans on ketoprofen and aceclofenac (2023); Project Cheetah depends on prey and space in Kuno and Gandhi Sagar; Chhattisgarh’s Barnawapara wild buffalo plan depends on genetic suitability and habitat protection in Udanti-Sitanadi and Indravati.
- Conclusion: Ex-situ buys time; only habitat protection and threat removal turn that time into recovery.
Quick Revision Table
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| CBD | Art. 8 in-situ (primary); Art. 9 ex-situ (complementary) |
| Seed bank | Orthodox seeds, about −18 to −20 °C |
| Cryopreservation | Liquid nitrogen, about −196 °C |
| Recalcitrant seeds | Mango, coconut, jackfruit, cocoa |
| ICAR bureaux | NBPGR New Delhi; NBAGR Karnal; NBFGR Lucknow; NBAIR Bengaluru; NBAIM Mau |
| Global backup | Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Norway (2008) |
| Central Zoo Authority | 1992, under WPA |
| Vultures | Veterinary diclofenac ban 2006; ketoprofen and aceclofenac 2023; Pinjore centre (2001, BNHS) |
| Project Cheetah | Extinct 1952; Kuno 17 Sept 2022 (Namibia 8); South Africa 12 (Feb 2023); Gandhi Sagar (Apr 2025); Botswana 9 (early 2026) |
| CG ex-situ | Nandanvan Jungle Safari (1 Nov 2016), Kanan Pendari (Bilaspur), Maitri Bagh (Bhilai); Barnawapara buffalo enclosure (2020); IGKV rice collection |
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
- Ex-situ = conservation outside the habitat; it complements, never replaces, in-situ conservation.
- Methods: zoos, botanical gardens, seed banks, field gene banks, cryopreservation (−196 °C), tissue culture and DNA banks.
- India’s genetic-resource bureaux: NBPGR New Delhi, NBAGR Karnal, NBFGR Lucknow, plus NBAIR Bengaluru and NBAIM Mau.
- Vulture recovery shows the formula: remove the threat (diclofenac ban) + breed in captivity + release.
- Project Cheetah (2022) reintroduces African cheetahs; India’s last wild cheetahs were shot in Koriya, Chhattisgarh, in 1947.
What’s Next
- Conservation Laws and Institutions: the WPA, Biological Diversity Act and FRA behind every method
- Biotechnology: tissue culture and genomics used in conservation
- Agricultural Science: seeds, breeding and crop varieties
- Wildlife Sanctuaries and Tiger Reserves of Chhattisgarh: the wild buffalo story in detail
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