Karnataka: BBMP Chairman calls for rare biotic ecosystems to be declared as heritage sites

The Biodiversity Board's biodiversity registry in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits must be finished quickly, according to Ananth Hegde Ashisara, Chairman of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board.

He believes that regions in the city with uncommon biotic ecosystems should be discovered and designated as heritage sites.
This comes as Karnataka holds a nationwide biodiversity conservation campaign from July 1 to August 15.

 "As part of this campaign, activities, in collaboration with citizens, such as planting, surveying and protecting the lakes and rewarding those working in the biodiversity sector will be carried out in all the wards of the BBMP", Ashisara said, at a meeting on conserving biodiversity in BBMP limits.

He went on to say that more saplings should be planted in all parks, lakes should be conserved, and marsh sections of swamps should be surveyed and protected.

"Activities carried out to rescue biodiversity should be recorded. Data on forest renewal, available species, and the kind of plants available in nurseries must be uploaded to the website. Renovation should be done in the areas around Bengaluru," he noted. This activity will be done in partnership with organisations and NGOs to plant saplings throughout the city, as well as a unique campaign.

The meeting reviewed documentation of the development of biodiversity sites that will be designated inside BBMP bounds, according to BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta.

Biodiversity board seeks to adopt different approaches in Hebbal-Nagawara Valley project

While citizens have raised the stakes in their opposition to the minor irrigation department's decision to cut down over 6,000 trees to rejuvenate Singanayakanahalli lake, the State Biodiversity Board's chairman, Anant Hegde Ashisar, discussed ways to reduce the colossal impact of tree cutting at a meeting on Monday. According to Ashisar, who spoke to Hans India, new measures should be devised to save the trees and lessen the damage. He also added that there should be ways to reduce the number of trees that are classified as needed to be taken down. The project must be completed, but the number of trees that must be felled in the process must be reduced as well.

According to Vijay Nishanth, a member of the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC), this is a step in the right direction. We will go to the location and present the findings to the chairman. Their main goal is to save the most trees possible. He feels that the lake is needed to be revitalised, but not at the cost of trees. The MI department has previously indicated that tree removal is necessary for the lake's restoration. The meeting included BBMP commissioner Gaurav Gupta and BBMP special commissioner (lakes), Reddy Sankar Babu, IDES.