The jungles and water resources of Uttarakhand are afflicted by trouble and neglecting the villages is leading to continuing large scale migration to urban areas. The villages need to be saved in order to achieve biodiversity conservation in the real sense, said noted environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi. He was speaking at a programme organised by the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board on biodiversity conservation on the occasion of the International Day of Forests on Tuesday.
Expressing his views on the occasion, Joshi said that saving the villages means securing the fundamental rights of those residing in rural areas while also maintaining their connection with the environment. He said, “On the one hand there is consistent talk of AYUSH state in Uttarakhand while on the other hand, no herbal enterprise has been set up in rural area whereas Mahatma Gandhi had also stated that the developmental path will have to pass through the village in order to secure both nature and the people. This is probably being missed the most in present times.”
The former chairman of the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board, BS Barfal, speaking on the occasion said that the Biodiversity Board had been formed in Uttarakhand during 2006 in order to implement the provisions of the Biodiversity Act 2002. The active participation of the various departments related to natural and domestic flora along with living creatures is necessary to effectively implement the provisions of the Biodiversity Act, he added. The director of Wildlife Institute of India, VB Mathur, principal chief conservator of forests Jairaj, Rakesh Shah, biodiversity board secretary Sargam Singh Rasaily and officials of various departments concerned were also among those present on the occasion.