'Nallur Tamarind Grove' in Bengaluru (Karnataka) was the first Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) of India, declared in 2007 and is known for its unique tamarind grove and diverse flora and fauna. Today, there are at least 46 BHS in the country that are unique, ecologically fragile ecosystems with a high diversity of flora and fauna.
The Karnataka Biodiversity Board has declared five such sites – Hogrekan - shola forest area with unique flora and fauna, and a "wildlife corridor" connecting various wildlife sanctuaries in Chikkamagaluru, University of Agricultural Sciences (GKVK Campus) in Bangalore that is rich in biodiversity, Ambaragudda in Shivamogga, and the sprawling 1,494-acre reserve forest in Mamadapur village in Vijayapura district, named after spiritual guru late Sri Siddeshwara Swamiji of Jnanayogashrama.
While many ecologically significant natural sites across the state have been identified, they have not been declared as protected areas.
Environmentalist and former chairman of the Board Anant Hegde Ashisara, has urged the forest and environment minister Eshwar Khandre to immediately notify the sites in order to provide them security cover under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 and to prevent commercial exploitation like resorts or mining, poaching and encroachment of these unique ecosystems with genetic, species and ecological biodiversity.
In his letter to the minister, Hegde has sought proactive measures to strengthen the gram panchayat level Biodiversity managing committees, which will prepare the People’s Biodiversity Registers at the local level, conduct Biodiversity studies led by deputy commissioners at the district level and notify the sites in a time-bound manner. The BMCs, the forest officials, local teachers and students have imparted training on the provisions of the Act and issues of conservation and sustainable use of bio-resources.
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Some of the proposals for the declaration of BHS have been pending since 2021, as per the Annual reports.
As many as 10 BHS – Kagga paddy region of Aghanashini estuary in Kumta, Karikanamma temple in foothills of Western ghats in Kumta, Mundige Jaddi bird nests in Sonda, Sirsi, Antargange hills in Kolar, Sri Lakshmi Adi Narayana hill in Chikballapur, Mahima Ranga hill in Nelamangala, Bengaluru rural, Jogimatti in Chitradurga, Shakunagiri hill, Shivamogga, Urumbi village stretch of Kumaradhara river in Sullia, DK, and Kondajji lake in Davangere are awaiting notification.
Another nine locations – Shivanasamudra Mutatthi, Nisargadhama, Jammatagi, Bechanayakana Gundi, Bhgavathy Chaya Kolla, Dharmasthala bathing ghat, Nalkuru, Uppukala balugodu and Ramaguli, across the rivers Cauvery, Tunga, Kumaradhara, Krishna, Netravati, Kallaje and Gangavathi, are yet to be declared as fish sanctuaries.
Ahead of the International Biodiversity Day on May 22, Hegde, who is also the chairman of Vrisha Laksha Andolan, reminded the government of the long pending tasks and said, “Conservation efforts in rural areas should be prioritised, 6,000-gram panchayats across the state must be surveyed, and a committee of experts should be appointed to assess and notify potential biodiversity heritage sites.”
“Permanent digital records of the state’s biodiversity richness should be created and published on the official departmental website for better transparency. Public awareness meetings must be held at the taluk level to educate citizens on the importance of biodiversity conservation. Past experiments led by forest officials such as P.S. Singh and B.R. Singh in biodiversity management should be incorporated into the department's knowledge base. A centre of excellence for biodiversity studies should be established under expert guidance,” he added.
