Action on decisions taken in 2023 meetings yet to be reviewed
Biodiversity Strategy & Action Plan awaits approval
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Apr 16: In blatant violation of the Jammu and Kashmir Biological Diversity Rules, 2015, the Biodiversity Council of the Union Territory has not met during the past over one and half year as a result of which action on the decisions taken in the meetings convened in the year 2023 could not be reviewed. Moreover, the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, which is imperative for sustainable use of biological resources and equitable sharing of benefits derived from them, is still awaiting approval of the competent authority.
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As per Rule 8 of J&K Biological Diversity Rules, the Biodiversity Council is supposed to meet at least twice in a year at the Head Office of the Council or at such other place as may be decided by the Chairperson (Principal Chief Conservator of Forests-HoFF J&K).
The 4th meeting of J&K Biodiversity Council was held on April 27, 2023 and thereafter review meeting was convened on July 8, 2023. Further, internal meeting of the Council was conducted on September 6, 2023. However, since then no meeting of the Council has been convened for the reasons best known to those, who had key role to play in ensuring that J&K Biodiversity Council fulfills the objectives behind its establishment, official sources told EXCELSIOR. In this way, the J&K Biodiversity Council has violated the Rule 8 of the Rules of 2015.
At least two meetings should have been convened in the year 2024 to review the action on the decisions taken in the three meetings convened in the year 2023, sources further said, adding “one of the important decision was pertaining to the formulation of Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir”.
As per the sources, the draft of the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan was submitted to the Administrative Department in the past but the same has yet not been approved and this aspect could have been deliberated upon in case any meeting of the Council was convened in the year 2024.
The process for making of draft Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for UT of Jammu and Kashmir was initiated in the year 2020 and “The Celestial Earth”, a group of internationally acclaimed professionals was assigned the task. The exercise involved consultation with all the concerned departments like Agriculture Department, Animal & Sheep Husbandry Department, Department of Horticulture, Department of Floriculture, Department of Fisheries, Department of Wildlife Protection and Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department.
However, even after the lapse of four years the Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan could not be finalized, sources said while disclosing that the Strategy and Action Plan will be a key document in the years to come keeping in view the vulnerability of J&K to climate change and its linkage to biodiversity.
The draft Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan comprises of 11 Themes, 38 Strategies and 161 Activities covering all the aspects of conservation of biodiversity and involves all the major departments to play a role towards biodiversity conservation, an officer of the J&K Biodiversity Council said while admitting that no meeting has been convened since September 2023.
As per the Rules, the Council is supposed to advise the Government on any matter concerning conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources and knowledge; organize through mass media a comprehensive awareness programme amongst all stakeholders regarding conservation of biological diversity and sustainable use of its components.
Further, the Council is required to ensure biodiversity and biodiversity dependent livelihoods are integrated into all sectors of planning and management, and at all levels of planning from local to UT, to enable such sector and administrative levels to contribute effectively for conservation and sustainable use.
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