Calling on the people to treat conservation of the rich biodiversity of the State as their major commitment, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said Kerala is also experiencing the danger signals of climate change.
Inaugurating the first State Biodiversity Congress being organised by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board (KSBB) at the Government Brennen College here on Sunday, he said that biodiversity being the artery of land, efforts should be taken to create awareness of the importance of conserving it.
Scientific approach
Kerala was the land that showed the complete picture of the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats, he said, adding that poets described Kerala as a land that reclined on the Western Ghats. He also called for making biodiversity conservation more scientific. “Kerala has started seeing signs of serious climate change,” Mr. Vijayan said adding that close observation of nature would show how these changes were reflected.
Kerala was becoming a favoured destination of migrant birds that were seen only in deserts, he said. A species of birds found only in hot regions of north India were now spotted at Thirunakkara area in Kottayam, he said. Konna trees (golden shower) that blossomed during the Vishu season were now seen blooming in all seasons, he added.
The Chief Minister also said that the atmospheric temperature in the State was increasing by .010 Celsius. A study by the Kerala Agricultural University showed that the temperature in the high range had recorded a 1.46% increase during the 1984-2009 period. Incidents of heat strokes that had been reported only from northern parts of the country were now being reported from the State, he said.
Panels’ role
He also said that Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) at local levels could play a major role in locally planning and implementing action plans for conservation and restoration of environment and biodiversity. Kerala being the first State to have constituted the statutory BMCs in all local bodies, he said that the committees should serve as sentinels for protecting the environment. He also said that the preparation of biodiversity registry had been completed in 91% of the local bodies in the State. It had to be examined how many of the local bodies had used the information in their biodiversity registries in the local planning process, he said.
Health Minister K.K. Shylaja presided. Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran presented prizes.
P.K. Sreemathy, MP; MLAs James Mathew, A.N. Shamseer and C. Krishnan; district panchayat president K.V. Sumesh; Additional Director General of Police B. Sandhya; KSBB chairman S.C. Joshi; and member K.V. Govindan were present.