Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board - An autonomous statutory Body constituted under Biological Diversity Act 2002 :

As per Section 23 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 the functions of the State Biodiversity Board shall be to:-

(a)  Advice the State Government, subject to any guidelines issued by the Central Government, on matters related to conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of biological resources;

(b)  Regulate by granting of approvals or otherwise request for commercial utilization or bio-survey and bio-utilization and any biological resource by Indians; and

(c)  Perform such other functions as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 or as may be prescribed by the State Government.

Organisational Structure :

As per the Forest & Environment Deptt.-3 Uttarakhand Govt. Notification No. 121(3)/X-3-2013 dated 14.02.2013, the following is the composition of the Board:-

 Chairman :

 1. Chairman, Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board

Official members :

2. CCF, Livelihood & NTFP, Forest Department, Uttarakhand, 3. Director, Animal Husbandry, Uttarakhand 4. Director, Agriculture, Uttarakhand 5. Director, Jan Jati Kalyan, Uttarakhand, 6. Member Secretary, Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board

Specialist Members :

7. Director, Herbal Research & Development Institute (HRDI), 8. Representative of Director, Wildlife Institute of India (WII) 9. Representative of Director, G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment & Development (GBPIHED), 10. Representative of Director, Botanical Survey of India (BSI) 11.Nominated Member (Non-Governmental) by the State Government of Uttarakhand

Vision :

Conservation of the natural heritage of the State including the unique, biodiversity rich and fragile ecosystems of the State such as forests, grasslands, wetlands and mountain ecosystems and their species including wild and domesticated biodiversity, genetic resources and ecological and environmental processes.
Primacy to be given to in situ conservation of the State’s biological and cultural diversity located both within and outside the State’s protected areas.

Goals :

• Identification of major threats to biodiversity in Uttarakhand and identification of ecosystems and habitats important for conservation lying outside Protected Area Network and suggest ways to protect and manage them.
• Assessment of adequacy of conservation and management measures, plans, socio-economic aspects, research and monitoring needs for Protected Areas and Non Protected Areas such as reserved, protected and unclassified forests, fresh water and other wetland systems, avifauna wintering areas, agricultural ecosystems, landscape systems and sites of anthropogenic importance.
• Linking biodiversity with livelihood of local people
• Assessment of the status and effectiveness of ex- situ conservation in the State including rehabilitation of endangered and threatened species and captive breeding programmes and per mote ex- situ conservation of flora, fauna and their genetic resources.
• Biodiversity education, training, awareness, public outreach, skills development and involvement of voluntary sector.
• Review of laws, policies, institutions, regulatory structures and procedures including cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation in relation to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use, assessment of effectiveness of wildlife protection in controlling the trade in wildlife products including medicinal plants and law enforcement and coordination between agencies.
• Focus on developing mechanism for people oriented sustainable management and sustainable use of biological resources, and for that constitute “Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs)” at the level of all Local Bodies and prepare “People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR)” for each BMC.
• Meeting of the State’s forest based needs of fuel wood, fodder, timber, Non Wood Forest Produce etc. from non-forest areas and degraded forest lands by encouraging afforestation, plantations etc.
• Encouraging and providing incentives for private and public sector investments.
• Creation of a just and equitable society based on sustainable resource use.

Initiatives/ Projects :

Kailash Sacred Landscape Development Initiative (KSLCDI) (2014-15) :

The Kailash Sacred Landscape Conservation and Development Initiative (KSLCDI) is a programme initiated by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in an effort to synergize the collaboration among the Nations of China, India and Nepal, working for the conservation and development of the vital landscape. The programme is focusing on five areas - Innovative Livelihoods, Ecosystem Management, Access and Benefit Sharing, Long-term Conservation and Monitoring, and Regional Cooperation, Enabling Policies and Knowledge Management.

The Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board is a collaborator with this project, responsible for the implementation of the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) component of the project.

National Environment Awareness Campaign (NEAC) 2012-13 :

The objective of this event was to promote awareness among the residents of the said colony regarding the importance of biological diversity and its conservation, particularly in urban areas. Conservation of flora & fauna/biodiversity cannot be limited to the responsibility of the Forest Department alone, but has to be made the mass movement. With this objective, the concept of ‘Plant and Adopt a tree’ was implemented.

The event involved ‘planting and adoption’ of 105 saplings of following tree species with known religious value by the residents of the Indira Nagar colony - Rudraksh (Elaeocarpus ganitrus), Amla (Emblica officinalis), Baheda (Terminalia bellirica), Kachnar (Bauhinia variegata), Ashok (Polyalthia pendula), Maulshri (Mimusops elengi), & Golden Bamboo (Bambusa vulgaris).

To ensure the protection of the saplings from cattle and other forms of disturbance, metal tree guards (also procured free of cost from the Forest Department) were placed around each sapling.