Protected areas, agrobiodiversity focus areas of India’s biodiversity plan | Latest News India

India has submitted its updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 at Cali, Colombia on Thursday with key areas focussing on “area based conservation” and “agrobiodiversity”.

India framed its first biodiversity action plan as a national policy in 1999. (HT file photo)

Apart from these, the focus also lies on delivering on 23 national biodiversity targets which are aligned with global targets.

The focus on area based conservation is mainly to create and sustain protected areas.

“The CBD has recognised protected areas as the cornerstone of protection of biodiversity. They help maintain diverse ecosystems, key habitats, provide refugia, facilitate migration and allow evolutionary processes. Two state driven models including protected areas and managed forests have been highly effective in achieving conservation goals in human dominated landscapes,” the action plan that runs into over 200 pages states.

The other major focus area is agrobiodiversity. India has been pushing for tree plantations that can be taken up by farmers and individuals in recent years.

“India is one of Vavilov’s centers of origin for crops plants and domestications. Besides 15 agroclimatic zones identified across the country, the protection of plant varieties and farmers’ rights authority has identified 22 agrobiodiversity hotspots based on number of species, crop varieties, wild relatives of cultivated crop species. About 168 species of crop including 25 major and minor crops have been domesticated,” the plan states.

Also Read:India seeks intl finance for national biodiversity action plan implementation

Conservation of marine, wetland, coastal, genetic diversity, biosafety, ecodevelopment are core conservation areas that require urgent attention, it has said.

India’s 23 national biodiversity targets include, conserving 30% of its area; ensuring participation, justice, and rights for indigenous peoples and local communities, women, young persons with disabilities and environmental defenders; enabling sustainable consumption choices , and reducing food waste by half; integrating multiple values of biodiversity into decision-making at all levels; sharing, fairly and equitably, benefits from genetic resources, digital sequence information and associated traditional knowledge; reducing pollution and halving nutrient loss and pesticide risk; and reducing rates of introduction and establishment of invasive alien species by 50%.

India has successfully updated National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), however the multifaceted plan requires appropriate implementation architecture.

It needs to upgrade tools and solutions for biodiversity research, monitoring, capacity building, access and benefit sharing, resource mobilisation among others, the plan notes. Raising finance will be a key factor, it added.

The study on Biodiversity Expenditure Review included review of ongoing programmes of 21 central ministries and two departments.

The average annual attributable biodiversity expenditure for FY 2017-18 to 2021-22 is estimated to be ₹32, 207 crore, the report said. To implement the updated national biodiversity plan now, the investment is expected to double.

“Implementation of updated NBSAP till 2029-30 would require annual average estimated investment of ₹81,664 crore (816,648.80 million) at the central government level,” the report has projected.

India framed its first biodiversity action plan as a national policy in 1999.

HT reported on Thursday that international finance is necessary for implementation of the country’s biodiversity action plan, minister of state for environment Kirti Vardhan Singh on Tuesday at Cali.

“I would like to mention that it is necessary to provide means of implementation including financial resources, as laid down in target 19 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, for implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan,” Singh said.

He further stressed a lot of work needs to be done to provide easily accessible means of implementation.

“Lot of ground needs to be covered in providing easily accessible means of implementation i.e. financial resources, technology and capacity building needs with the requisite Speed, Scope and Scale,” he said.

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