As many as 115 of the 230 gram panchayats in Dakshina Kannada have prepared people’s biodiversity registers, according to J. Srinivasa Murthy, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Social Forestry, Dakshina Kannada, who is the nodal officer for biodiversity programmes in the district.
The register is a document containing comprehensive information on the locally available bio-resources, including landscape and demography, of a particular area or village. Bio-resources cover plants, animals and micro-organisms or parts thereof, their genetic material, and byproducts (excluding value-added products) with actual or potential use or value but not including human genetic material.
In his introductory remarks at a workshop on the Karnataka Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 here on Friday, Mr. Murthy said the biodiversity registers of 115 GPs have been submitted to the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, which has approved them. He said the Dakshina Kannada District Biodiversity Management Committee has set a target of getting people’s biodiversity registers from 72 more GPs in this financial year. Of that, 15 have now submitted the registers. They are yet to be evaluated by the committee.
Mr. Murthy said each GP would have to submit two copies of the register in English and another two copies in Kannada. In addition, a soft copy too has to be submitted.
He said that college teachers having knowledge in botany and other science subjects have been involved as coordinators for preparing the registers. Students are also involved in preparing them.
The DCF said that the Institute for Social and Economic Change, Bengaluru, would prepare a separate register for the district. It will document the major bio-resources relevant to the district. It began the work a week ago.
The register will contain information on soil health, weather, rain pattern, fisheries sector, agriculture and horticulture, traditional medicines, forest cover and the like, Mr. Murthy said.