Prepare action plan for conservation of tree species: Badal

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has asked the State Biodiversity Board and Forests department to jointly prepare an action plan for conservation of all the tree species in various agro-ecological zones of the state.
Punjab Biodiversity Board and Forests department should prepare an action plan for conservation of the tree species in various agro-ecological zones, the Chief Minister said while presiding over a meeting of the Board here.
Badal emphasised on the need to conserve such rare species of plants and herbs, which were gradually becoming a part of the erstwhile flora and fauna of the state, an official release said here today.

It was all the more important to conserve these rare species for our future generations to acquaint them with rich biodiversity heritage, the Chief Minister said.
Over declaration of state flower, Badal suggested for having more discussions in future at the executive committee level of the board under the chairmanship of G Vajralingam, Principal Secretary (Science, Technology and Environment), it said.
In view of the importance of activities of the Board, it was decided that an executive committee would also review its activities on quarterly basis, the release said.

It was further decided that the Board would initiate action for implementation of Biodiversity Access & Benefit Sharing Guidelines, 2014 notified by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

Vajralingam, apprised the Chief Minister that the Board has constituted district level Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in all 22 districts.
Also, 33 village level BMCs have also been set-up in biodiversity rich areas, it said.
He proposed that some of the biodiversity rich sites identified by the Board should be declared as 'Biodiversity Heritage sites'.
These sites include 'Kayakalp Vriksh', the Banyan tree spread over more than three acre area in Cholti Kheri village in Fatehgarh Sahib District and 'Inami Baag' inhabiting 29 native mango varieties at Bassi Umar Khan village in District Hoshiarpur.
The Chief Minister advised that for conservation of these sites, detailed action plan be prepared in consultation with District Administration, the release said.

Badal advised that steps be initiated with active participation of the local population for conservation of other biodiversity rich pockets identified by the Board in villages Tibba Taparian in Ropar district and Kartoli in Hoshiarpur district.