New guidelines issued to protect natural resources: Javadekar

The government has issued new guidelines under which it would get a share of profits made outside India from use of country's natural resources, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said today.
"Last week, I have given approval to the new guidelines which are practical, doable and which will benefit India. Because we have to start a sharing mechanism and we have started it.
"So anybody using natural resources out of India and earns profit out of it, we will get a share out of it," he said in his video message, during the valedictory function of Third edition of annual Bio-diversity Congress.

The annual bio-diversity Congress is organised by CP R Environmental Education Centre and School of Public Health, S R
M University at Kattankulathur near here.
While elaborating, he said the share generated from the profits would remain "earmarked" and would be utilised as reserves for protecting the Biodiversity.

Noting that the conclave was an "innovative initiative" he said, "India is rich in Biodiversity. That's the treasure we have."
Congratulating the organisers for conducting the Conclave, he said, "I will be eager to know the conclusions, gist of the deliberations made during the conclave to share with the Ministry, because that will take our the journey to preserve and protect biodiversity".

Referring to the Bio-diversity Special Science Express that travels across the country, he said that this year it had travelled to more than 40 locations and about 20 lakh students have viewed it.
"I think this has to be taken further because, if we inculcate good habits and value system of preservation of bio diversity in the next generation, half of our job is done," he said.
Earlier, Indian Biodiversity Congress Organising Secretary A Biju Kumar said some of the recommendations made during the three-day event include strengthening the public distribution system.
About 30 per cent of food stock gets wasted due to lack of mechanism to protect them. "We need to prevent the wastage of the food so that we can eradicate poverty. This was one of the suggestions made during the conclave, he said.