By IANS,
Chennai : India is focussing on sustainable use of its bio-resources and the government will establish the National Bureau for Forest Genetics in Dehradun to protect the country’s forest genetic reserves.
“This is an effort to protect the forest genetic reserves of the country. It will be set up by Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education,” Minister of State for Environment and Forest Jairam Ramesh said here Wednesday.
He was here to address the International Conference on Bio Diversity in Relation to Food and Human Security in a Warming Market organised by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF).
He said India was focussing on sharing the benefits of bio-diversity resources with the local populace and cited the agreement entered by the National Biodiversity Authority (NBDA) with PepsiCo that exports seaweed to Singapore, Malaysia and other countries from the Gulf of Mannar.
“As per the agreement PepsiCo has deposited Rs.37 lakhs ($80,000) with NBDA and the amount will be distributed to the people in the Gulf of Mannar region. There are 80 more such agreements in the pipeline,” he added.
According to him climate change and protection of bio-diversity should converge as both are interconnected.
He said developing countries want a legally binding climate control measures but are against such a measure with regard to biological resources. On the other hand the developing countries are not for legally binding climate control measures but want legal protection for biological resources.
According to him India will put forth concrete proposals at the ensuing biodiversity summit in Nagoya in Japan.
“India is going into biodiversity summit with a position of strength,” Ramesh said citing the legal measures taken in the country for the management, conservation of biological resources.
According to him the central government along with the governments of Kerala, Karnataka and West Bengal are in the process of developing a People’s Biodiversity Register documenting the traditional knowledge in the medicinal value of plants.