Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Preservation of Biodiversity of The Country

The Government of India has taken several steps for conservation of biodiversity of the country. They include survey and inventorization of floral and faunal resources; assessment of forest cover to develop an accurate database for planning and monitoring; establishment of a Protected Area Network; designating Biosphere Reserves for conservation of representative ecosystems; conservation of ecologically fragile areas such as mangroves, wetlands and coral reefs; implementing species-oriented conservation programmes; ex-situ conservation through setting up of botanic gardens, zoos and gene banks; and enactment of the Biological Diversity Act in 2002, under which a National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards have been set up for implementing the provisions of the Act.

The NBA is a body corporate established in accordance with the provisions of Sec.8 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, at Chennai w.e.f 1st October 2003. It is an autonomous, statutory and regulatory organization to implement the provisions of Biological Diversity Act, 2002.

Some of the measures taken towards implementation of the Biological Diversity Act include formation of State Biodiversity Boards ( SBBs) in 25 States, declaration of three Biodiversity Heritage Sites ( BHS) , notification of threatened species which are on the verge of extinction for 13 states (Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Mizoram, Orissa, Meghalaya, Goa, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, and Tripura), establishment of 31665 Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and preparation of 419 People’s Biodiversity Registers in six states (Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal).

The Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board established under Section 22(1) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 has undertaken several measures towards implementation of the Biological Diversity Act which include: Preparation of 15 Biodiversity Management Committees in 10 districts, identification of one Biodiversity Heritage Site and preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers. So far, the NBA has provided an amount of Rs. 1.84 crore to SBBs for implementation of the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act.

The Minister of State for Environment and Forests (I/C), Shri Jairam Ramesh gave this information in a written reply to a question by Shri Mohd. Ali Khan in Rajya Sabha today.

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