IMPHAL September 29: A two days national workshop under the title “Impact of Climate change on Biodiversity Management in North-Eastern India with Particular Reference to Manipur” was inaugurated today at Hotel Classic.
The workshop organized by the Manipur Biodiversity Board in collaboration with the state forest department, is a collaborative endeavor of the delegates to map out a road to fight the global issue of climate change with special reference to the state.
The workshop was attended by environmentalists, scholars, educationists from outside the state as well as from the state, officials of the departments concerned and others.
Chief secretary D.S. Poonia, who is also the chairman, Manipur Biodiversity Board, R.K. Srivastava, member secretary, Manipur Biodiversity Board, A. Kharshiing, principal chief conservator of forest, Dr. N.C. Talukdar, director, Institute of Development of Biological Resources and Sustainable Development, Dr.S. K. Kaul, advisor, ministry of Environment and Forests, Dr. Anil Kumar, addl. principal chief conservator of Forest attended the inaugural function of the two days workshop as the presidium members.
In his inaugural speech, A. Kharshiing, said that the state is abounded by huge virgin bio diversity reserve.
He said that among the Northeastern states, the state falls under one of the 18 bio diversity hot spots of the world, and is well known for its biology and genetic diversity. The state is also rich in fauna and flora, he added.
He added that, however, the impacts of climate change on the Northeast region have been less explored and less known so far, making the future scenario more uncertain for vulnerability assessment and risk management.
“It should also be recognized that the impact on the biodiversity of the region due to the direct human induced land use changes may also accelerate by the impact of climate change”.
Further speaking during the workshop, he added that climate change increases the risk of extinction of species that have a narrow geographic and climatic range, and endemic and threatened species are the most vulnerable.
However, it is extremely difficult to assess the impact of climate change on plants in the presence of other threats or pressures, he added
He further maintained that the variety of life in the forests of the region underpins the social and economic well being and will be increasingly an indispensable resource in the battle against climate change.
SK Kaul, recounting on the conservation ad
S.K. Kaul, recounting on the conservation and management of natural resources asserted that with no stringent laws to tackle and to keep track of the minacious exploit of our natural resources, the depletion of our biodiversity is only aggravating.
He further maintained that there is a need to set up new policies to safeguard our biodiversity.
He also disclosed that till date there is no adequate research or data base on the issue.
During the technical session of the workshop many eminent environmentalists and scholars presented papers. The workshop will conclude tomorrow.
Meanwhile, an official website of the Manipur Biodiversity Board was also inaugurated by chief secretary during the inaugural session of the workshop today.