3 years on, corpn to hold first BMC meeting today

July 09, 2018 12:00 am | Updated 03:58 am IST - KOCHI

Civic bodies yet to prepare People’s Biodiversity Registry

A view of the Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary in Kochi.File photoH_Vibhu

A view of the Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary in Kochi.File photoH_Vibhu

The Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) of the Kochi Corporation will meet here on Monday for the first time in nearly three years.

Though the new regime led by Soumini Jain came to power in November 2015, the administration could not constitute the committee, which is considered as the grass-roots level conservation unit, till recently. The biodiversity conservation activities in the corporation areas including the preparation of the People’s Biodiversity Registry (PBR) have remained a non-starter in the city as the civic administration failed to form the BMC.

The first meeting of the committee will be held on Monday at 12 noon.

The committee, with the Mayor as its chairperson and the Secretary of the corporation as its secretary, has six members. The authorities will have to nominate a new member to the BMC as one of the earlier appointed members had passed away.

Of the 96 local bodies in the district, all except Kochi Corporation and Thrikkakara municipality had initiated the preparation of the PBR in their respective areas. The political uncertainty in the municipality had delayed the preparation of the PBR.

Kochi city is one of the few urban areas that have a protected area in their limits. Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary, located within the city, is considered as the smallest bird sanctuary in the State.

The training programme for the volunteers of Thrikkakara for the preparation of PBR will be held on July 17, said P.K. Ramachandran, the district coordinator of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board.

The preparation of the PBR can be taken forward with the support of the local councillors. Each division councillor is supposed to provide two volunteers for the preparation of the register, who can document the information obtained from their respective areas.

The information collected by the volunteers will be compiled by an expert group. The information recorded in the register will be digitised at the State Board, he said.

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