Even as public and private stakeholders start debating national and global concerns at the second Indian Biodiversity Congress in Bangalore on Sunday, a three-day exposition accompanying it will showcase them in their common, visible and practical hues: as food, medicine, vegetation, animals and almost everything else natural that our lifestyle affects.
The Indian Biodiversity Expo inaugurated by Minister for Health and Family Welfare Aravind Limbavali at the Veterinary College Grounds on Saturday promises something for everyone, right from a conservation freak, foodie to a photographer. You can taste traditional, healthy bites at food courts from across the regions, check out the herbal wealth from the forests that can cure a range of modern day malaises or see how some of our older communities lived thousands of years back in tree houses.
This is the first major expo being held in the country during the ongoing United Nations Decade on Biodiversity 2011-2020, according to its organisers.
One lakh visitors are expected to visit the show, which will have 10 special pavilions. One of them will be a testimony to the cultural wisdom of India in conserving biodiversity.
A 2,000-sq ft pavilion will present food, vessels, handicraft, song and dance of the tribal people. A ‘village market’ and an ‘organic bazaar’ will be a platform for farmers, organic growers, self-help groups and non-governmental organisations to sell their products.
Other pavilions will focus on India’s biodiversity heritage and status, medicinal plants, endangered and threatened species, including seeds, grains, vegetables, live cattle and birds; photographs, and conservation efforts.
At the students’ pavilion for selected schools and colleges, a prize awaits the best stall.
Over 200 exhibitors have put up stalls highlighting the country’s rich biodiversity.
The Indian Biodiversity Expo and the Indian Biodiversity Congress 2012 are being jointly organised by the Centre for Innovation in Science and Social Action, Thiruvananthapuram; Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore; and Navdanya, Delhi.
