About The term Biodiversity is often linked to only its existence in wildlife sanctuaries, natural parks, etc, but existence of biodiversity in urban areas is one such measure which needs to be actively enhanced and promoted. According to definition given by Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), it refers to all the variety of life that can be found on Earth (plants, animals, fungi and micro-organisms) as well as to the communities that they form and the habitats in which they live. Urban areas can provide opportunities for creating a more sustainable future by way of enhancing resource-efficiency, reducing ecological footprints, fostering innovation, political leadership and social responsibility. Biodiversity in cities plays far more important role not just greenery and some birds & animals. It is an indicator of the ecological health of an area. It provides ecosystem services, which would otherwise be sought from outside the city at a cost and increase in the ecological footprint. The developed toolkit would help local governments harness available resources and opportunities to address global biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. And, it would be for conservation and management of biodiversity in urban areas which would provide a one stop solution for database management by collaborating different initiatives of biodiversity conservation into a single urban biodiversity management tool.
Legal Framework Section 41 of Biological Diversity Act -2002 provides the scope to Municipal Corporations to perform all the activities relevant to its overall Biodiversity Management. And specifically states that “Every local body shall constitute a Biodiversity Management Committee within its area for the purpose of promoting conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biological diversity including preservation of habitats, conservation of land races, folk varieties and cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals and microorganisms and chronicling of knowledge relating to biological diversity.”
Objectives
01.
Incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem services in local governance for sustainable planning of cities.
02.
Ensuring effective implementation of National Biodiversity Action plan.
03. 04.
Promotion of CBI as a tool for management of natural resources in the cities.
05.
Identification and involvement of sub-national stakeholders in the biodiversity conservation.
06.
Encourage a common approach to biodiversity conservation and sharing of best practice
07.
Highlight priority habitats and species that are of particular value in a city, both within the national and local context
Easing the data collection and usage of PBRs across the country.
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