Chandigarh, Sep 6: The two-day 16th National Meet of State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Union Territory Biodiversity Councils (UTBCs) began in Chandigarh on Sunday, with a focus on strengthening biodiversity governance and making more than 2.76 lakh Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) functional and effective across the country.
Organised by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), the national meet brings together chairpersons and member secretaries of SBBs and UTBCs, along with senior government officials, scientists and biodiversity experts.
The inaugural session was presided over by Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria in the presence of Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Bhupender Yadav and Haryana Environment, Forest and Wildlife Minister Rao Narbir Singh.
Addressing the gathering, Governor Kataria highlighted India’s rich biological heritage and traditional environmental practices. He said ecological security is closely linked to food and water security, livelihoods and sustainable development.
Kataria stressed the need to combine traditional knowledge and community participation with modern scientific approaches. He also highlighted the ecological importance of wetlands, riverine ecosystems and agricultural biodiversity.
The Governor called for strengthening Biodiversity Management Committees and People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs), while emphasising better coordination between biodiversity institutions and local communities.
Union Minister Bhupender Yadav highlighted India’s environmental ethos and referred to initiatives including Mission LiFE, Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam, Amrit Sarovar and the Green Credit Programme.
Referring to the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, Yadav said the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act, 2023, and Biological Diversity Rules, 2024, have strengthened and streamlined the biodiversity governance framework. He urged states and Union Territories to align their rules and institutional mechanisms with the amended framework.
Yadav also highlighted India’s progress on international biodiversity commitments, including submission of the seventh national report to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the first national report on the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.
On grassroots implementation, the minister called for making over 2.76 lakh BMCs effective and said PBRs should become dynamic planning tools for local bodies.
He said the NBA has shared more than Rs 200 crore in Access and Benefit Sharing funds with farmers, local communities, BMCs, biodiversity boards, UT councils and research institutions.
Haryana Minister Rao Narbir Singh highlighted the state’s conservation efforts and stressed training and capacity building of local communities to strengthen biodiversity governance.
