Manmohan Singh announces a sum of USD 50 million during India's presidency of the CoP to the Convention On Biological Diversity, towards biodoversity conservation.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced a sum of USD 50 million during India's presidency of the Conference Of Parties To The Convention On Biological Diversity "to strengthen the institutional mechanism for biodiversity conservation in India".
Addressing the gathering after the inauguration of the "High-Level Segment" of the 11th CoP to the Convention On Biological Diversity at HICC on Tuesday, the Prime Minister announced the funds as part of the Hyderabad Pledge, and said that these funds would be used to enhance the technical and human capabilities of national and state-level mechanisms to attain the objectives of the Convention On Biological Diversity.
"We have also earmarked funds to promote similar capacity-building in developing countries," he announced.
The PM said that India was "truly privileged" to host, for the first time, the Conference Of Parties To The Convention On Biological Diversity.
"This is also the first such Conference since the launch of the United Nations Decade of Biodiversity last year," he said, adding that the 11th Conference Of Parties was being held at an important juncture.
"This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro, when the world came together to adopt many far-reaching documents, including two legally-binding Conventions," he said.
"In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to find common ground on environmental issues. This is, indeed, unfortunate, given that there is today a much higher global awareness of environmental risks and concerns. It is this consciousness that should provoke us to greater action even as we cope with the pressures of the current global economic downturn," the Prime Minister said.
However, Manmohan Singh expressed happiness over the success of negotiations regarding biodiversity.
"India has recently ratified the Nagoya Protocol and formalised our commitment to it. I would urge all the Parties to do likewise because concerted global action is imperative and cannot brook any further delay. Despite global efforts, the 2010 biodiversity target that we had set for ourselves under the Convention On Biological Diversity was not fully met. This situation needs to change. The critical issue really is how to mobilise the necessary financial, technical and human resources, particularly the incubation, sharing and transfer of technology," he said.
Stating that protecting and promoting biodiversity has always been an integral part of India's ethos and civilization, he said that thousands of sacred groves could be found all over the country.
"Our traditional systems of agriculture and medicine depend on plant and animal biodiversity. Conserving the wild ancestors and relatives of the cultivars we use today is of paramount importance to us," he said.
Singh spoke about the country's approach to the protection of traditional knowledge by establishing a Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.
"This database has 34 million pages of information in five international languages in formats easily accessible by patent examiners. This Library promotes the objectives of the Nagoya Protocol on the issue of protection of codified traditional knowledge systems such as the celebrated Ayurveda," he said.
"We decided to build this knowledge database because of the patent on the use of neem extract in Europe, and another on the use of turmeric as a healing agent. Since then, because of this database, over 1,000 cases of bio-piracy have been identified, and over 105 claims withdrawn or cancelled by patent offices," the Prime Minister said.
The PM said that traditional knowledge should be used for the benefit of the entire mankind rather than for private profit. He also promised to provide assistance to multilateral agencies like the WIPO and other countries in setting up digital libraries.
Singh said that Indian farmers have always believed in the free use of seeds.
"The Protection Of Plant Varieties And Farmers' Rights' Act of India confers intellectual property to farmers through the registration of seed varieties. In our Patent Act, we have adopted disclosure requirements on the origin of inventions based on biodiversity. But I believe a lot more needs to be done. We need to build on this experience and build living germ-plasm laboratories in our fields," he said.
The Prime Minister also stressed on the need to build a movement to conserve traditional varieties of crops.
"Our approach to protecting and promoting biodiversity has been guided by the belief that all three objectives of the Convention On Biological Diversity, namely, conservation, sustainable use and sharing of benefits from the utilization of genetic resources, should receive adequate and equal focus. This approach is the basis of India's Biological Diversity Act of 2002. The 2008 National Biodiversity Action Plan further identifies specific action points by various government agencies," Singh said.
The Prime Minister claimed that despite the pressure on land in our densely populated country, India has more than 600 protected areas, covering approximately 5% of the total geographical area of the country, in a network of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and conservation reserves.
"We have special programs for some high-profile endangered species like tigers and elephants. In 2010, the country-level status assessment for tigers showed an increase in their number to an estimated 1,706 from an estimated 1,411 in the year 2006," he said.
Singh also endorsed the need to to look beyond large animal species and take a more organic approach towards conservation. He said that work on species recovery programs on 16 identified endangered species, including the snow leopard, hangul and lion, has been initiated.
However, he said that such country-level efforts at preservation should be complemented by enhanced international collaboration to check wildlife crime.
The PM spoke about the Forest Rights Act that lends legal sanctity to the rights of forest-dwellers, who he said are "often the best friends of the biodiversity that resides in these magnificent forests". He said that similar innovative approaches should be adopted to deal with the issue of protecting fishermen's livelihoods.
Singh said that biodiversity-based livelihood options form the basis of rural survival in many parts of the world.
"Therefore, living at the periphery of subsistence, the poor are the most at risk from biodiversity loss," he said, adding, "The poor should not also be the ones to bear the cost of biodiversity conservation while the benefits are enjoyed by society at large."
The PM said that several development schemes could be realigned to provide biodiversity-related benefits.
"This is vital to protect habitats, including our water bodies, which are beyond our protected areas. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, for example, with an annual outlay of USD 6 billion, aims to create legally mandated green jobs for every rural household in our country," he said.
Union Miniter of State for Forest And Environment Jayanthi Natarajan, AP's Governor E S L Narasimhan, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and foreign dignatories also spoke. (INN)