The National Campaign for Updating and Verifying the People's Biodiversity Register (PBR) has been launched in Goa, marking an important step towards documenting and preserving India's vast biological variety
The People's Biodiversity Register is a comprehensive record of various aspects of biodiversity, such as habitat conservation, preservation of land races, folk varieties and cultivars, domesticated stocks and breeds of animals, microorganisms, and knowledge accumulation related to the area's biological diversity.
The event was co-hosted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, the Goa State Biodiversity Board, the National Biodiversity Authority, and the Government of Goa, and was attended by a number of dignitaries. Among the distinguished guests were Union Minister of State for Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey; Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister of Goa; Nilesh Cabral, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Goa; C. Achalender Reddy, Chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority, and other senior Government representatives.
During the event, Union Minister of State Ashwini Kumar Choubey emphasised the importance of maintaining the delicate balance present in nature. He remarked, "It is important to maintain the delicate balance present in nature. One must return to it as much as one takes away from it."
Choubey informed the audience that the country has so far produced 2,67,608 People's Biodiversity Registers (PBR) by Biodiversity Management Committees tasked with the critical responsibility of documenting natural resources and traditional knowledge linked with them. He also spoke on the progress being made in digitising the People's Biodiversity Registers and converting them into e-PBRs.
Pramod Sawant, the Chief Minister of Goa, expressed his delight in Goa being picked as the place for the start of this national campaign. He praised the people of Goa for their outstanding efforts in protecting biodiversity and stressed the importance of local communities in attaining success in this field. He stated, "The successes of Goa in this sector are the successes of the enthusiasm of the people at the ground. Government can only support local communities in their endeavour to preserve biodiversity, and therefore, every success belongs to the community."
During the ceremony, an exhibition showcasing unique products from each Biodiversity Management Committee was inaugurated in addition to the campaign launch. The event also saw the presentation of special prizes for the Best Biodiversity Management Committee in North and South Goa, the Green Journalist Award, and individual contributions to biodiversity preservation.