SUBHASH MISHRA
Ranchi, Sept 10: Senior officials from the forest department and state experts emphasised the importance of biodiversity awareness and conservation during a day-long workshop titled ‘Biodiversity Act Implementation and Biodiversity Awareness Conservation.’
The event was jointly organised by the Biodiversity Management Committee and the Forest Management Committee at Palash Auditorium, Doranda, for members and remote villagers from Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Khunti, and Simdega.
Sanjeev Kumar, Member Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Jharkhand Biodiversity Board (JBB), led the workshop, providing insights into the state’s biodiversity status, the Biodiversity Act, and the roles of the Biodiversity Management Committee.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (APCCF) Satyaprakash Negi, APCCF Vishwanath Sah, environmentalist Prabhat Kumar, botanical expert Dr. Prasenjit Mukherjee, and Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs) from the relevant districts also participated, sharing their expertise on the subject.
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Technical insights on local biodiversity
In the workshop’s technical session, APCCF Vishwanath Sah presented the status of wildlife in Jharkhand. Environmentalist Prabhat Kumar discussed the condition of butterflies in the state, while Dr. Prasenjit Mukherjee shared his research on aquatic plants.
Technical officer Hari Shankar Lal provided information on various sections of the Biodiversity Act, Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) legislation, and recommended the creation of a People’s Biodiversity Register for endangered species.
MISO officer Sunil Kumar explained the formation and functions of the Biodiversity Management Committee. NBA intern Pallawi Bharti detailed the process for declaring biodiversity sites in Jharkhand.
The Biodiversity Management Board pledged to support conservation efforts, and participants shared their experiences in environmental conservation and traditional uses of medicinal plants.
