Under India’s Presidency of G20, the first of the four meetings of the Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) will be held at Bengaluru from February 9 to 11, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) announced on Saturday.

The discussions at the ECSWG meetings will focus on the agenda “Promotion of Blue Economy along with Coastal Sustainability, Restoration of Degraded Lands and Ecosystems and Enhancement of Biodiversity and Strengthening of Circular Economy”.

Leading to the First Meeting in Bengaluru, the Mysuru Zoo in coordination with the Central Zoo Authority organised a two-day National Conference for Zoo Directors of India on 18th and 19th of January last.

The Mysuru Zoo, one of the best managed zoos in India, was chosen as a venue to focus on best practices in zoo management. The conference focused on “Master Planning and Building the National Capacity for species Management & Conservation Breeding.” In this conference, 59 participants from 25 states and a Union Territory participated.

For preparedness and better coordination, a meeting between Leena Nandan, secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and Vandita Sharma, chief secretary to the government Karnataka, was held on Saturday at Bengaluru.

While appreciating the ambience of Bengaluru and its green environs, the union secretary requested the chief secretary to facilitate an excursion tour of the G20 delegates to Bannerghatta Biological Park.

G20 delegates are scheduled to visit the Kalkere Arboretum and the Bannerghatta Biological Park at Bengaluru. At Kalkere, the delegates will have an opportunity to visualize and experience four predominant forest ecosystems of Karnataka state.

The State Forest Department will also showcase the forest restoration models adopted in these ecosystems and the successful revival of faunal biodiversity in these areas. The Bannerghatta Biological Park will showcase the state-of-art butterfly park and animal safaris to the delegates.

The Karnataka Forest Department will highlight the flagship ecotourism model, the Jungle Lodges Resort, which is popular with nature lovers globally.