Imphal, Sept 18: The Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) today launched a global campaign on ‘Biodiversity for Everyone’s Life’ from Imphal, Manipur in the presence of a large number of policymakers, civil society, scientists and students.
The campaign which was released in the form of a 60 seconds documentary featuring Olympian and Five times world boxing champion Mary Kom, Governor of Manipur, Dr Najma Heptulla and environmentalist, Dr Dinabandhu Sahoo.The main aim of this programme was to create awareness and sensitise the masses about the biodiversity and its benefits to the common people.
The Manipur Governor, Dr Najma Heptulla and Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly , Shri Y. Khemchand Singh, launched the campaign on ‘Biodiversity for Everyone’s Life’, an initiative of Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD), a National Institute of Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India, at Imphal today.
In his welcome address, Prof Dinabandhu Sahoo, Director IBSD, remarked how the biodiversity of the region was declining at an alarming rate and how due to climate change and over exploitation, the lives and livelihoods of the people of this region were in danger.
Due to rapid industrialization, unplanned urbanization and increase in human activities, average global temperature has increased by 0.740 C during the last 100 years. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the temperature could rise by 1-6-4.30C by 2100.
At the same time, global mean sea level rose between 12-27 cms during the last century. These changes have caused huge loss in biodiversity, affecting the entire world, from low lying areas to the vast polar regions.
At least 40% of the world economy and 80% of the needs of the people are derived from biological resources. More than 700 species that are facing extinction are being hit hard by climate change. Therefore, there is an urgent need to join hands to make combined efforts to save our biodiversity.
Biodiversity positively impacts human health in a number of ways, with the bioeconomy expected to contribute to 2.7 % of global GDP by 2030. There are 34 global biodiversity hotspots in the world, out of which Four are in India namely; (1) the Western Ghats, (2) the Eastern Himalayas, (3) Indo-Burma and (4) Andaman and Nicobar Islands, said Sahoo.
The Speaker while addressing the gathering lauded this initiative and promised to sensitive the policymakers about the importance of biodiversity and promised all help at his level. In her address, Dr Najma Heptulla, Governor of Manipur, expressed the timeliness of this campaign and also gave practicable advice on the importance of planting of native tree species for increasing the biodiversity of plants and animals.
During the inaugural function, IBSD also felicitated the Governor who was recently conferred the outstanding Parliamentarian Award. The Speaker was also felicitated for his outstanding contribution to public service. Sahoo also urged everyone to spread the campaign through the YouTube video that is entitled ‘Biodiversity for Everyone’s Life’.
