Thiruvananthapuram: Local self-Government institutions in the State will soon have a key role in the conservation and management of biological resources and traditional knowledge systems. The State Biodiversity Board has initiated steps to set up Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) for all gram panchayats, town municipalities and City Corporations.

In the first phase, model BMCs would be set up in five districts. The Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) has started a training programme for panchayat presidents to introduce them to the concept of biodiversity documentation and management.

The Central Biological Diversity Act 2002 mandates the establishment of a National Biodiversity Authority, State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level. Kerala is one of the first States to constitute a board. The setting up of BMCs is aimed at enabling local and tribal communities to have a say in managing biological resources. The primary role of the committee is to prepare the People's Biodiversity Register (PBR) - a document that lists plant and animal resources and the traditional knowledge systems associated with them. The register will also contain data on local and tribal healers.

The committees are authorised to regulate harvests of biodiversity resources within their jurisdiction and to charge collection fees for this purpose. They will have at their disposal "Local Biodiversity Funds" into which such income, as well as other grants will be deposited.

The State Biodiversity Board has finalised a plan to train volunteers in preparing the people's register. Member Secretary of the Board J.K. Sarma said resource persons for the project had been identified in each panchayat, municipality and Corporation. He said the constitution of BMCs was expected to take off by July.

The State Biodiversity Rules framed by the board are awaiting Cabinet clearance. The BMC would be chaired by the panchayat president, municipality chairperson or the Mayor. The members include experts in select fields and representatives of the Forest Department, local and tribal communities, women, NGOs and research institutions.

The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has sanctioned a project for secondary data generation on biodiversity. The project covering five districts, involves preparation of a database on plant, animal and forest wealth as well as indigenous and traditional knowledge systems based on them.

The data generated by the project will be converted to digital format. It will serve as a base model for the People's Biodiversity Register. The Planning and Economic Affairs department has approved another project for local- level documentation in Wayanad.

A meeting of the NBA in Chennai last week discussed a regulatory system governing access to the biodiversity registers and protection of intellectual property rights of the stakeholder communities. A benefit- sharing model for use of the listed resources is also being worked out.

P.Pushpangadan, one of the expert members on the panel, said the people's register was an attempt to ensure public participation in management of ecosystems and traditional knowledge. He said the database could unleash the potential for development of new herbal drugs for the global market, bringing benefits to local communities. The concept of biodiversity register is not new to the state.

The Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad completed the preparation of such registers in all the 85 gram panchayats in Ernakulam district during 1998- 99. A similar project was taken up by the Chennai-based M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation in Wayanad district.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail