Museum in Mysuru to document flora and fauna in Cauvery belt

Karnataka Tourism Minister R V Deshpande today said the state government has accepted the concept of establishing a museum in Mysuru to document the existing flora and fauna in the Cauvery river belt.
Deshpande said the Cauvery river belt is very rich in biodiversity and available information on it will be utilised to disseminate a message about conservation of environment.
The initiative is part of a new concept, which aims to integrate the existing milieu with facts including historical and artifacts, to make them more relevant to the common man, especially relating to environment issues, Deshpande said.
"Preserving and conserving natural heritage is now a major focus area for the museums, as they have realised that museums cannot simply remain repositories of artifacts," he told reporters here.

The government also plans to establish a biodiversity park at Madivala Lake in Bengaluru, the Minister said.
The project will be implemented at an estimated budget of Rs 2 crore and would be completed in next five years, he added.

"The project will be implemented in collaboration with the Karnataka Knowledge Commission, School of Environmental Studies of University of Delhi, Department of Higher Education, Lake Development Authority, Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment and Department of Tourism," he said.
Biodiversity Park Concept was implemented for the first time in Delhi by Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in collaboration with the Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems of the University of Delhi, he said.

Deshpande said the proposal has been submitted by Professor C R Babu, Professor Emeritus, School of Environmental Studies, Centre for Environmental Management of Degraded Ecosystems (CEMDE), University of Delhi, who has been instrumental in setting up bodiversity parks in Delhi.
A herbal garden, butterfly park, fruit-yielding garden and orchidarium will be developed at Madivala lake as per the landscape architect's plans, Deshpande said.