A six-month study on the biodiversity of the IIT campus — commissioned by the Environment Advisory Committee of IIT-B and conducted by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature from September 2008 to February 2009 — was released recently, and showed that the IIT campus houses nearly 843 species of flora and fauna of native and foreign origin. Of them, as many as 100 species figure as ‘protected species’ under different levels of vulnerability, in the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA) of 1972, the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) list or in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

Among animals, the prominent species include the marsh crocodile placed in schedule I of WPA and CITES and termed ‘vulnerable’ by the IUCN. Different species of butterflies, like the Common Hedge Blue and the Common Pierrot butterfly, listed as Schedule I on WPA, have also been spotted in the campus as per the report.

The precinct also houses vulnerable trees including Gulmohar—the foreign species though common is India is placed in the IUCN list in it’s native range of Madagascar— and Sita Ashoka. Varieties of rare orchids were also spotted, the study says.

According to Jaya Joshi, spokesperson for IIT-B, the campus which is situated on the lowest of slopes of the Western Ghats was a barren land around 50 years ago. “The campus was a marsh land when IIT faculty and students began settling here in 1958. Then some of the campus residents took initiative to plant trees in the campus. Pictures taken in 1970s show that the campus was still quite barren. In comparisons, the campus was thriving with lush greenery by 2005,” she said.

Joshi pointed out that IIT’s Green Campus Initiative Committee is still active in maintaining the green patch.

The study was conducted across the IIT-B campus covering an area of 566 acre, said WWF representatives said. “Powai Lake was not considered in the scope of study as it is not within the purview of IIT- Bombay. The campus was divided into two main sectors —urbanized and vegetated sectors—for the study,” said Goldin Quardros, director of WWF, Mumbai.