Preservation of Biodiversity and Resources
“Some
important steps taken by the Government for preservation of
biodiversity and resources inter alia include: survey, inventorization,
taxonomic validation and threat assessment of floral and faunal
resources; assessment of the forest cover to develop an accurate
database for planning and monitoring; establishment of a Protected Area
Network of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Conservation and
Community Reserves; designating Biosphere Reserves for conservation of
representative ecosystems; undertaking of species oriented programmes,
such as Project Tiger and Project Elephant; complemented with ex-situ
conservation efforts. In addition, Biological Diversity Act 2002 has
also been enacted with the aim to conserve biological resources of the
country and regulation of access to these resources to ensure equitable
sharing of benefits arising out of their use, under which a National
Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards in all States have
been set up for implementing the provisions of the Act.
The Government has put in place several measures towards ensuring
that interventions and activities in forest areas do no adversely affect
the biodiversity. For ensuring protection of flora and fauna within
protected areas, Management Plans are prepared by State Forest
Departments which inter alia include a schedule of activities to be
taken up over a period of ten years. The Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972
provides for diligence to be taken before approval of any activity is
accorded by the State Government within a protected area.
In addition, the Central Government provides financial assistance to
States and Union Territories under Centrally Sponsored Schemes such as :
Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat; Project Tiger, and Project
Elephant for better protection and conservation of wildlife and their
habitat; and Identification of Forest Management Scheme towards
protection and management of forests. The Government supports
conservation of some prioritised/threatened medicinal plants harboured
in specially designated Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCAs) that
are primarily forested areas.
The National Afforestation & Eco-development Board of the
Ministry promotes afforestation, tree planting, ecological restoration
and eco-development activities in the country, with special attention to
degraded areas as well as ecologically fragile areas.
Notwithstanding these measures, various non-forestry activities
undertaken in forest areas for mining, industries, hydel power
development, irrigation dams, railways, roads and other essential
developmental activities may lead to destruction of forests and
biodiversity in the diverted forest areas. In order to compensate this
loss of forest areas and biodiversity, compensatory afforestation on
equivalent non forest land is done to compensate the loss of forest and
biodiversity and such non forest lands are declared as Protected
Forests/Reserve Forests under Indian Forest Act 1927. In case of Central
Government PSU projects, compensatory afforestation is done over twice
the area of degraded forest area at the cost of user agency to improve
and conserve the biodiversity in the degraded forest.”
This information was given by Minister of State (Independent Charge) of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Anil Madhav Dave, in reply
to a written question in Rajya Sabha today.
***
HK
(Release ID :159540)
Thank you for this post. It is a very efficient post where the government is taking measures to preserve its resources.
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