Environment Minister Calls for Nominations for India Biodiversity Awards 2016 at Tenth Annual Meeting of State Biodiversity Boards

Dhirendra Kumar

News Curator cum Moderator

Indian Botanists

The two-day national meeting of the State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) concluded here today. The meet serves as a platform to share the collective experiences on the implementation of the Biodiversity (BD) Act at national, state and local levels and deliberate the way forward to meet the challenges ahead jointly. This is tenth in the series of such a national conclave since the establishment of the NBA in the year 2003.

The wrap-up session was attended by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Prakash Javadekar and Mr. Yuri Afanasiev, UN Resident Representative, UN. The Minister announced the call for nominations for India Biodiversity Awards 2016, which is a collaborative initiative between the Ministry and UNDP-India. The Chairman, NBA informed the Minister about the discussion held on various issues such as formation of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), documentation of Peoples’ Biodiversity Register (PBRs), implementing Access of Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanisms, notification of threatened species and updating the State Biodiversity Action Plan.

Logo belongs to NBA, India

Recognising the need for continuous engagement and constant dialogue with the SBBs as well as strengthening of institutional framework as an important element in the effective implementation of the BD Act, the meeting reviewed the progress made on the resolutions adopted in the Environment & Forest Ministers’ Conference held in April 2015. It is notable that Telangana and Jammu & Kashmir have notified their state-specific rules as a part of compliance of the resolution made in the April meet.

Many SBBs are proactively taking forward the Access of Benefit Sharing (ABS) Regulations 2014 issued by the National Biodiversity Authority in their respective States. During deliberations, the SBBs like Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal shared their best practices on the above score. The experts who participated in the meeting provided clarity on the queries raised by the SBBs, especially on the formation of Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), sharing of benefits to the community and interpretation of certain provisions of the Act.

Twenty six State Biodiversity Boards, members of the Authority, Chairpersons of the Expert Committees and Chairperson and Member Secretaries participated in the event. Chairman, NBA and other senior officers of the Ministry also participated in the meeting.

The meeting had been inaugurated by Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Shri Ashok Lavasa, yesterday. 

The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003 to implement India’s Biological Diversity Act (2002). The NBA is Autonomous body and that performs facilitative, regulatory and advisory function for Government of India on issue of Conservation, sustainable use of biological resource and fair equitable sharing of benefits of use.

Source: Press Release, Press Information Bureau

International Biological Diversity Day 2015 : Plant Biodiversity for Sustainable Development.

The United Nations General Assembly, in December 2000, proclaimed 22 May as ‘The International Day for Biological Diversity’, to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. Earlier December 29th was the date to observe International Day for Biological Diversity. However, it was difficult for many countries to plan and carry out suitable celebrations for the date of 29 December, given the number of holidays that coincide around that time of year. Noting the recommendation of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity at its fifth meeting that the date of the International Day for Biological Diversity be changed to give it greater visibility, it was decided to proclaim 22 May, as the International Day for Biological Diversity henceforth.

ROLE OF SOME UNSUNG WOMEN IN BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

P.K. Mishra

Department of Botany

Vinoba Bhave University

Hazaribag-825319, Jharkhand, India

E mail: malay_mishra@yahoo.com

Introduction

Women have been custodian of plant genetic diversity from time immemorial. They have adequate knowledge regarding importance of plants as food, medicine, clothing and raw materials for various house-hold purposes. Plants are the backbones of religious events and rituals. Obviously these aspects of life are dependent on women. Since time immemorial, role of women has been acclaimed by society as gatherer and conservator of plant species. In the year 1983, Yale University press published a book authored by Frances Dahelberg entitled “Woman the Gatherer”. The book glorified how women have contributed in conservation of plant genetic resources. Culinary tradition of any area is highly specific and tailored according to plant diversity present in that area. Needless to mention, women play vital role in maintaining this tradition. Rituals and festivals are also important aspects of the cultural diversity as various plants and plant parts are used for various purposes. Women are pivotal for maintaining the cultural diversity and they properly manage and maintain plants for this purpose.

Organic Farming for Rich Biodiversity, Consequently Better Ecological Function

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A meta analysis done by a group of scientists reported that organic farming increased species richness by about 30%. Their analysis affirms that organic farming usually has large positive effects on average species richness compared with conventional farming. Given the large areas of land currently under agricultural production, organic methods could undoubtedly play a major role in halting the continued loss of diversity from industrialized nations. The detailed analysis is available online on Journal of Applied Ecology   published on 7th February 2014.

BOTANY and NAMES - BioDiEt

Gangadhar Panday

Actor & short filmmaker. Author runs Babul Films to spread ecological awareness.

Email: gangadhar@babulfilms.in

    Yes. It is about names like you all thought of, yet it is not. Not, because I am not talking about the Botanical Nomenclature - the formal, scientific naming of plants; and definitely not about ICN or International Code of Botanical Nomenclature - ICBN.

     It is all about the places that are named after seeds, fruits, plants, trees and anything that is botanical.

    It is pertinent here to rewind my timeline by a couple of months. After having written the first article on Botany and Cinema (Light Action and Camera with Plant Sciences, published on Indian Botanists Blog-o-Journal on December 6th 2012), I was struggling to find more material for my next article. True, I was busy with Cinema and in promoting my recently formed NGO and trying to find a sustainable revenue model for it. Having worked for the Government for almost three decades, I realised that it is not an easy task adjusting to the open market conditions. Rabish Chandra gently reminded me about my next text with pictures. A kind of panic started in me and I was feeling more helpless, for the topic demanded heavy research and in depth knowledge, a really time consuming process.