J.P. Park in Mathikere is set to become an urban biodiversity hotspot. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), with the assistance of Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC), which was formed in January this year towards conservation and promotion of biodiversity in the city, will take up work on the project.
“Under the project, emphasis will be given to attract more birds, butterflies, and insects and build a conducive atmosphere for them and preserve their natural habitat. Diverse varieties of native plants will also be grown,” said H.S. Ranganathaswamy, Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), BBMP. The park is just one of similar projects that are on the cards. “Other places to be converted into biodiversity hotspots will be identified soon and work will be taken up in a phased manner,” he added.
Akshay Heblikar, a member of BMC, said that giving a tag of an urban biodiversity hotspot will expand the scope of conservation in Bengaluru.
“Apart from such hotspots, we are planning to create tree parks with mainly native species in the existing BBMP parks. There are over a thousand BBMP parks and we will try to identify and develop 300 more such parks in the city,” said Mr. Heblikar said. The BMC also plans to take up work on a few lakes and wetlands. “We want to improve the flora and fauna and document and study them,” he added.
Mr. Ranganathaswamy added that the concept of creating a ‘green belt’ in all the smart cities projects in the city was also discussed in a recent meeting of BMC.
Work on PBR
The BMC is hoping to begin documenting information on the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), a comprehensive register of information on local flora, fauna and other information associated with species in the city. However, work on this will depend on whether the pandemic is brought under control in the city. Mr. Heblikar said that a basic PBR was prepared over a decade ago by the Forest Department. “We will either build upon it or prepare a new PBR, work on which should start in a month,” he said.
The committee wants to involve students and the public in this PBR. “This will create awareness about urban biodiversity and also kindle interest among citizens,” said Mr. Heblikar, adding that even the committee would also benefit from the traditional knowledge of biodiversity which is there among many people.
The BMC is also contemplating starting a Student Biodiversity Register where a biodiversity register in and around schools will be documented. This will eventually be a part of PBR. “We will train students and teachers so that the process is continuous, ” Mr. Heblikar said.
Vijay Nishanth, who is also a member of the committee, said that students of zoology, agricultural sciences and environmental sciences from colleges and universities will particularly be roped in for the projects along with NGOs and other interested volunteers.
“The main aim of the BMC is to conserve, document and promote biodiversity and preserve natural habitats,” he said adding that the primary responsibility of the committee included documentation of biodiversity, preservation of natural habitats among other things.