'Nagaland forests among those having richest bio-diversity

Forests of Nagaland are one among those having the richest biodiversity in the world, state's Principal Chief Conservator of Forest M Lokeswara Rao said today.
Inaugurating a four-day workshop on Conservation Assessment and Management Prioritisation (CAMP) of Medicinal Plants in Dimapur district, the Head of Forest Force said Nagaland is located in one of the 25 hotspots of the world in terms of biodiversity with forests covering an area of 13,318 sq km corresponding to 80.33 per cent of the state's total geographical area.
He said the state's forest cover forms a part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot, which is one of the 25 recognised biodiversity hot-spots of the world and rich in Medicinal Plants.

Prioritisation of Medicinal plants is essential for their conservation, he said.
Advisor from Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions, Bangalore, D K Ved spoke about rapid threat assessment of wild medicinal plants.
Retired PCCF of Himachal Pradesh, Vinay Tandon spoke about having a national perspective for conservation of threatened medicinal plants.
CAMP is a process that helps in identifying the species and to draw attention for informed conservation action.