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Priority to be accorded for developing bio-diversity consortium: Minister

— PHOTO: R. M. RAJARATHINAM

Conserving move: Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests S. Regupathy, releasing a souvenir to Vice-Chancellor of Bharathidasan University M. Ponnavaikko, on Thursday.

TIRUCHI: The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests will accord priority for developing bio-diversity consortium on the campus of Bharathidasan University, with a view to protecting the endangered and rare species of various plants, shrubs and herbal varieties.

The priority for the project is inevitable in the wake of the urgent need of enhancing biodiversity cover, said the Union Minister for Environment and Forests S. Regupathy at the inaugural of the two-day seminar on ‘Emerging issues in biodiversity management’ organised jointly by the School of Environmental Sciences of the University’s Department of Environmental Management and Commission on Ecosystem Management – International Union for Conservation of Natural Resources (CEM-IUCN) at the University here on Thursday.

India was a mega-diverse country rich in biological resources and associated with traditional knowledge. The country accounted for 7 to 8 per cent of the recorded species of the world.

Pointing out that bio-diversity conservation involved a joint responsibility of various sectors, he said that regional-level ‘Biodiversity Management Committees’ were being constituted all over the country, with representatives of local bodies, universities, research institutions, non-governmental organisations and other nature-lovers. The Committees, being set up consequent to the floating of the National Biodiversity Authority in 2003, would be vested with a special responsibility of conservation of biodiversity and its sustainable utility.

Referring to the University’s proposal for setting up the bio-diversity consortium on its sprawling 650 acres, the Vice-Chancellor M. Ponnavaikko, in his presidential address, said the consortium would accommodate several trees which were on the verge of extinction and other endangered species. Deviating from the planting of usual saplings such as eucalyptus, the consortium would be a paradise for birds such as peacock and a safe habitat even for snakes. The School of Environmental Sciences would also take up a special project for ascertaining the extent of biodiversity currently available in all the eight central districts falling within the University’s jurisdiction, he said.

The Chair of the School of Environmental Sciences M. Krishnan said that it has been planned to plant hundreds of species including the common varieties such as neem, ‘mudakathan’; ‘karuvelam’ and ‘aachan.’ The Vice-Chairman, CEM-IUCN, Dhrubajyothi Gosh spoke on the importance of conservation of biodiversity. The Lecturer, N.D. Srinidhi Vihashini was among those who spoke.

Earlier, the Minister released a book on the seminar papers and the first copy was received by Dr. Ponnavaikko.

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