|
Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala has made huge strides in the field of biodiversity, and is
now set to participate in the 11th Conference of Parties (CoP) to
the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) slated to be held in
Hyderabad Oct 1-19, said an official Saturday.
Both CoP (Conference of Parities) and MoP (Meeting of Parties) are
held once in two years to review and take decisions on
implementation of provisions in CBD.
The importance of biodiversity and improving livelihood will be
highlighted in this mega conference.
Speaking to IANS, Dr. K.P. Laladhas, member secretary of the
state-owned Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB), the
implementing agency of all environment related programmes said
this is the biggest event till date, where participants from 193
countries, represented by even heads of states will take part.
"We will be actively involved in the preparation of exhibits to be
placed in the special train called 'Biodiversity Express', which
will have 10 coaches each depicting why and how crucial
environment is. This train will travel to almost every state,"
said Laladhas.
Dozens of documentary films are being readied to be screened on
what Kerala has achieved in this field, which include mapping of
the entire resources of the state's only village councils of
tribals in Idukki district, which is rich in biodiversity.
At the conference, a miniature of Kerala's biodiversity would be
showcased and it includes, traditional knowledge, food besides the
cultural segment which would be handled by the Kerala Kalamandalam,
the world renowned institute that imparts training in and
conducting performances of the classical arts like Kathakali,
Koodiyattam, Mohiniyaattam, Thullal and Panchavaadyam.
"Kerala leads the rest of the states in this sector because KSBB
was instrumental in forming the Biodiversity Management Committee
(BMC) in all the 978 village councils in the state. And in 500 of
these village councils, the People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs)
has already been prepared. This is a rare distinction in the
country for any state," said Laladhas.
BMC is an elected body from the village council and includes
experts from the concerned area - who will be the custodians of
the biodiversity of the village.
PBR would have the minute details of all the flora and fauna
besides documenting the traditional knowledge of each village.
Incidentally, Kerala is home to nearly 10,035 plant species (22
percent of national plant diversity). Out of the 4,600 flowering
plants found in Kerala, 1,500 are endemic.
The National Biodiversity Authority is the nodal agency in the
country which looks after the setting of an independent board
similar to KSBB in each and every state, and provides all
financial assistance to the state boards for the conduct of
numerous programmes at state level.
|
Comments
|
Quick links