Gap between investment and national biodiversity target

There is a big gap between global investment and the national bio-diversity target, said an Adviser in the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change today said.
"There is a big gap between global investment and we need substantial funding to meet the national target. We need to mop up our own resources," Sujata Arora said.
She said India is a signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) agreement.
India, which signed the CBD, has set up it's own national biodiversity road map for executing the CBD convention goals at the national level, Arora said.
Arora was addressing the lecture at the 'Understanding the National Biodiversity Targets and the Biodiversity Act' workshop organised by the Centre for Environment Communication and West Bengal Bio-diversity Board.

India has deputed it's representative to the CBD.

"The CBD asks developed nations to provide funds to the developing nations to meet the targets....And the response of developed countries is a matter of concern," she said.
She said to create consciousness about bio-diversity in India, all the stake-holders were being involved and the level of consciousness was high at local levels in different parts of country.
Turning to the issue of protecting wildlife, an important component of our eco-system, Centre of Environment and Development, president, A K Ghosh wondered why very little had been done to protect the lives of elephants along Alipurduar-New Jalpaiguri railway corridor.

A total of 48 elephants had been killed in that corridor being hit by trains in past 5 years, but none seems to be touched, he said.
Speaking on climate change, Ghosh said Kolkata is world's third most vulnerable city and faced the prospect of a calamity by 2025.
"Remember Aila Cyclone in 2009 which hit Kolkata at a windspeed of 85 km after initially lashing Sunderbans with far more velocity? Sunderbans saved the city at that time. But we need to wake up," he summed up.