International Biodiversity Day is about need to create environmental consciousness: Bhupender Yadav

New Delhi: Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav has said International Biodiversity Day is about the need to create environmental consciousness.

Speaking at a special function held to celebrate the International Day of Biological Diversity in Mumbai he said “we often take the best from the environment but give back waste, with development our consumption increases”.

Yadav said if we encourage unnecessary consumption, one earth will not be enough. “In the years to come we need to pave the way for the conservation of biodiversity along with development” he added.

Yadav proposed setting up People’s Biodiversity Registers in every village under Mission Life.

Congratulating the Maharashtra Government for its unique gene bank initiative Yadav said, “The Western Ghats situated in Maharashtra are rich in biodiversity.

“There are six National Parks, forty-eight Wildlife Sanctuaries, and three Ramsar Sites in Maharashtra. Therefore there could not have been a better place to celebrate the International Day of Biodiversity.”

Elaborating on the theme for this year’s World Environment Day, the Minister stated that the Ministry plans on combining the celebrations of World Environment Day with Mission Life.

Noting that nature and the environment are very important to our life he added that with Mission Life the Government endeavours to take a ‘whole society’ approach.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ashwini Kumar Choubey said, “If we protect the environment, the environment in return will protect us”.

“If we don’t give back as much as we take from the environment, the balance in nature will be destroyed and we will have to face natural disasters. If nature survives, we survive and the earth survives” he said.

Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. Ms. Leena Nandan stated, “Today is a day we acknowledge that our lives are largely dependent on biodiversity.

During the event, two publications of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change namely, ‘Biodiversity Heritage Sites of India‘ and ‘Other Effective Area-Based Management’ were released by the dignitaries on the occasion.