News Highlights:
Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site: Yaya Tso, known as a birds’ paradise for its beautiful lake located at an altitude of 4,820 metres, has been proposed as Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site (BHS)
Key Takeaway:
The Biodiversity Management Committee, the panchayat of Chumathang village, along with the SECURE Himalaya Project recently resolved to declare Yaya Tso as Ladakh’s first BHS under the Biological Diversity Act
Yaya Tso:
- About:
- Yaya Tso is a volcanic lake at an altitude of 4820 m.
- ‘Tso’ means river in the Tibetan language.
- Yaya Tso to become Ladakh’s first biodiversity heritage site
- The proposed Yaya Tso site will have an approximate area of 60 square kilometres, including the lake’s watershed, and is among the most beautiful lakes in Ladakh.
- Habitat:
- Yaya Tso is a nesting habitat for many birds and animals, such as the bar-headed goose, black-necked crane and brahminy duck.
- It also is one of the highest breeding sites of the black-necked crane in India.
Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS)
- About:
- Biodiversity heritage sites are well-defined areas that are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems with a high diversity of wild and domesticated species, the presence of rare and threatened species, and keystone species.
- Legal Provision:
- As per this section, the State Governments are empowered to notify in the official gazette, in consultation with ‘local bodies’, areas of biodiversity importance as Biodiversity Heritage Sites.
- Under sub-section (2) of Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, the State Government, in consultation with the Central Government, may frame rules for the management and conservation of BHS.
- Under sub-section (3) of Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, the State Governments are empowered to frame schemes for compensating or rehabilitating any person or section of people economically affected by such notification.
- Identification and Declaration of BHS:
- State Biodiversity Boards (SBB) may invite suggestions (or consider those already coming from communities) for the declaration of BHSs, through the Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) and other relevant community institutions.
- Significance:
- Biodiversity is closely linked to ecological security.
- Loss of biodiversity and bioresources show an increasing trend mainly due to human activities. Therefore, it is necessary to instil and nurture conservation ethics in the community.
- Declaration of Biodiversity Heritage Sites is a welcome step which will exhibit the conservation ethics and values practised by these societies to the broader world.
- BHS declaration will help them renew their commitment to conservation, besides acting as a model for other communities to follow.
- This is a small but significant step that a community can take towards protecting the environment and ensuring bio-resources sustainability across generations.
- BHS declaration marks the voluntary participation of communities in protecting and conserving biodiversity, which helps expand the reach of conservation.
- Restrictions:
- The creation of BHS may not restrict the prevailing practices and usages of the local communities other than those voluntarily decided by them.
- The purpose is to enhance the quality of life of the local communities through conservation measures.
Pic Courtesy: Freepik
Content Source: The Print