By IANS,
New Delhi : The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) launched an appreciation programme on sustainable management of biodiversity on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity Tuesday.
The programme was launched by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) director general S. Ayyappan.
Speaking on the occasion, Ayyappan said that the online course will be accessible even to the remote corners of the country and will benefit people immensely.
“The youngsters who take up this course, will become agents for managing biodiversity in a sustainable manner,” he added.
Prominent scientist and Rajya Sabha member M.S Swaminathan said: “The course has a positive approach. Instead of just prohibiting ecological malpractices, it also explains what should be done to conserve the biodiversity.”
“Biodiversity management is based on three principles. Conservation, sustainability and equitable use of resources,” he added.
Swaminathan also announced that another program on climate change was in the pipeline and would be launched soon.
The one month post graduate programme has been been developed by IGNOU’s Chair of Sustainable Development (CSD) and covers topics such as the importance of biodiversity, agrobiodiversity, threats to biodiversity and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Swaminathan, often called the father of Green Revolution in Indian agriculture, is the honorary chairman of the CSD.
IGNOU Vice Chancellor M. Aslam said that given the importance of biodiversity conservation, the university is planning to make the programme open for all of its 2.7 million students.
May 22 was proclaimed to be the International day for biological diversity by the United Nations in 2000. This year’s theme is marine biodiversity.