Uttarakhand is one of the most biodiversity rich states and India, which increases the responsibility of the state and the people to conserve this wealth. The State Forest and Wildlife Minister Harak Singh Rawat said this while speaking at a programme held to mark the International Day for Biological Diversity at Navdanya here on Tuesday. The programme was focused on the theme of 'Celebrating 25 years of action for Biodiversity' as decided by the United Nations.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Rawat said that India is one of the 12 countries in the world with major biodiversity. Stating that Uttarakhand is among the most biodiversity rich states of India, he said that this makes the state more important from the viewpoint of biodiversity conservation. Recalling the contributions of Chipko Movement leaders Gaura Devi and Sunderlal Bahuguna, the minister said that Uttarakhad had given the message of forest and wildlife conservation to the whole world. Appreciating the role being played by Navdanya in conservation of agricultural biodiversity, the cabinet minister also extolled farmers cultivating Dehradun Basmati rice.
Expressing his views on the occasion, the former director of Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) VC Thakur said that Uttarakand being a state with rich biodiversity, there is need for learning from tradition and taking concrete measures for conservation of rivers and creatures. Expressing concern at the consistent global climatic changes, he said that the decrease in population of sparrows and squirrels moving from the plains to the mountains are signs of the challenges which will be faced by humans and other creatures in the coming days. Planting trees is essential for tackling the consistently rising temperatures, he added.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the Uttarakhand biodiversity board head Rakesh Shah announced the start of the Gaura Devi Award for biodiversity conservation.The Gaura Devi Award for 2018 was presented to Sushma Juyal of Vikasnagar in Dehradun for conservation of the Basmati rice variety. Other Basmati cultivators of Dehradun including Surya Prakash Bahuguna, Yashpal Rana, Mukundi lal and Ummed Singh Bora were also felicitated on the occasion. About 200 farmers from various parts of Dehradun were also among those present in the programme.