The success of any endeavour and its usefulness to society hinged on the extent of awareness created among children, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said. He was speaking after inaugurating the valedictory session of the 10th Children’s Biodiversity Congress, organised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board, on Tuesday.
Mr. Vijayan said the government would ensure prominence to events that taught children about the rich biodiversity. He added that biodiversity parks were being built in each school. Such initiatives would enable students to understand the various aspects of nature and learn the features of diverse plant species.
Presiding over the session, Minister for Cultural Affairs A.K. Balan said the preservation of ecosystems was necessary for the survival of each organism. “Our land was a treasure trove of rich biodiversity. As many as three of the 34 biodiversity hotspots of the world were in the country. These were the Himalayas, the Western Ghats and the Indo-Burma region,” he said.
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He added that the India State of Forest Report, released by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, which stated that Kerala figured among the States where the forest cover had increased between 2015 and 2017, provided immense relief. Prizes were also given away to the winners of various State-level competitions conducted by the board.