The Himachal Pradesh State Biodiversity Board has listed 22 species of plants and 16 of animals found in the hills of Himachal Pradesh are listed as ‘threatened’.
“Separate committees of experts, constituted by the Board’s notification in December 2016, were asked to examine and propose threatened species of plants and animals. On the basis of their report, we sent a list of 38 species for notification by Centre,”said member secretary of the Board, Kunal Satyarthi.
Some threatened plant species from HP includes Mohra, Atis, Salam Panja, Ner Dhoop and Ratanjot, and that of animals are Himalayan musk deer, Bearded, White Rumped Slender-billed and Red-headed vultures, Golden Mahseer and snow leopard.
Satyarthi, who was at the workshop on the national biodiversity action plan and targets on Monday, revealed said after central notification as threatened plant species, the trade of some species could be prohibited depending on situation, and for others it could be regulated. “We can regulate the trade by dividing in seasons. Their cultivation could also be encouraged.”
He said the Biodiversity Act’s mandate is conservation, sustainable utility and benefit sharing of biological resources. “Since our state is rich in biological resources, the Board is in the midst of industrial dialogue.” Satyarthi said the state’s biological resource has been going out. Different industries have been purchasing it from the chain in trading.
“We have made a list of pharma companies and have initiated a dialogue with them. We are talking to Dabar company also. The state can earn lakhs of Rupees annually from the biological resources that go out,” he said.
Satyarathi said the permission for taking out the herbs is in the purview of forest department. The Biodiversity Board deals with benefit sharing.
He said the Board will also hold pharma companies accountable for having taken biological resources from HP even before.
The Board is presently engaged with the listing of Biological resources by going down to the Panchayat level.
“We worked in four districts of Kullu Chamba Sirmaur and Shimla first and formulated committees at different level. The People’s biodiversity registers are being made. This will help getting some per cent of benefit from the bio-resource, which goes outside.”
Additional Chief Secretary, Environment, Science and Environment, Manisha Nanda said integrated approach was must to protect biodiversity. She called for documentation of the resources.
The workshop was attended by experts from National Biodiversity Authority Chennai, scientists from farm varsities in Himachal and the officials from different departments.
The Biodiversity Act came into being in 2002, wherein every state was to set up the Biodiversity Board. In Himachal, however, the Board was not so active, but for the initiative taken in last couple of years.