Govt. will develop biodiversity parks in all districts and ‘Pallevanams' in villages, says Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan
Expressing concern over the harm caused by mounting anthropogenic pressure on nature, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Forest, Environment, and Science & Technology K. Pawan Kalyan said on Thursday that human beings had been, as well-known American author Daniel Quinn wrote in his path-breaking environmental novel 'Ishmael', mostly 'takers' and were giving back little to enable other life forms to survive.
Mr. Pawan Kalyan insisted that every individual could contribute to nature in his or her own small way like throwing seed balls around, while the governments took steps at the macro level for protecting the flora and fauna, with whom human beings had a symbiotic relationship and ignoring which would have disastrous consequences.
As far as the Andhra Pradesh Government was concerned, he said, it was taking steps for developing a biodiversity park in each one of the 26 districts and Pallevanams (village forests) to throw light on the importance of protecting nature.
Participating as the chief guest in the International Day for Biological Diversity observed by the AP State Biodiversity Board (APSBB) here, Mr. Kalyan said the relationship of human beings with nature had been exploitative, and the impact of deforestation was more profound than ever before.
Afforestation
He observed that cutting trees, clearing forests and utilising other natural resources for development were unavoidable, but the damage to nature on that count had to be undone to some extent through compensatory afforestation and other measures.
Citing an example, he said destruction of mangroves, which act as a natural barrier against tsunamis, portended grave danger to the coastal populations. Then there was the illegal felling and smuggling of highly valued red sanders, which were endemic species in the pristine Seshachalam forests, and looting of other forest wealth elsewhere, Mr. Kalyan said, and observed that the Eastern Ghats, Papikondalu, Seshachalam and Nallamala forests were largely intact, but the government and people could not afford to lower the guard.
Further, he stressed the need for growing native species of plants and suggested to nurseries to desist from bringing exotic ones such as Conocarpus erectus, which were considered detrimental to the environment and human health. In this regard, the nurseries should take guidance from the Forest Department and APSBB, he advised.
Special Chief Secretary (Forest, Environment and S&T) G. Anantha Ramu, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Production) Rajendra Prasad Khajuria, Adviser P. Mallikarjuna Rao, APSBB Chairman N. Vijay Kumar and Member-Secretary P. Ramakrishna were among those present.
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