Arunachal committee wins India Biodiversity Award

Context

The Shergaon Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) in the West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh is awarded as the best panel in the country at the fifth edition of the India Biodiversity Award.

About the India Biodiversity Award

• The award was given by the National Biodiversity Authority.
• It was given on the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22 May.
• It is a joint initiative by the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Ministry (MoEFCC), National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• It is an innovative mechanism to identify and recognise the efforts of the individuals, communities and the institutions working towards biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources, access and benefit-sharing and biodiversity governance.
• Winners of the awards receive a memento, a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh each for individuals and Rs 5 lakh each for institutions.
• The award is given in five categories:
• Conservation of Wild Species
• Conservation of Domesticated Species: Institution and Individual
• Best Biodiversity Management Committee
• Sustainable Use of Biological Resources: Institution and Individual
• Replicable Mechanisms for Access and Benefit Sharing

Reasons for Shergaon BMC selection

• Shergaon BMC is the first in Arunachal to win the Award.
• It was established on March 15, 2016, and Arunachal Pradesh has 164 BMCs.
• The committees was recognized for the exemplary work in documentation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge, generating awareness, establishing best practices in biodiversity conservation and sustainable use.
• The Committee has worked on documentation of endemic flora and fauna of the village forest.
• Plant species like Paris polyphylla, Taxusbaccata, Swertia chirayita, Rubia cordifolia, and faunas such as red panda, flying squirrels, civets, Himalayan Asiatic black bear have been documented.