Kadalundi grama panchayat, the first local body in the country to come up with a second volume of the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR), crossed yet another milestone by launching a survey for the first ever local Marine Biodiversity Register in the country. The National Biodiversity Authority Chairman C. Achalender Reddy launched the project on December 9.
The PBR contains information regarding all major species in a specified region collected with the help of local people. Kadalundi panchayat had released the register years ago, but followed it up recently with a second volume that was released a month ago by Minister for Tourism and local MLA P.A. Mohamed Riyas.
“We realised there have been changes in flora and fauna of the region after 2018 floods. The second volume was meant to keep track of it,” said panchayat president Anusha V.
The idea of a Marine Biodiversity Register came up when panchayat authorities realised that marine species in the region, especially at the estuary of the Kadalundi river, had not been properly recorded in the second volume of the PBR.
“Keeping track of biodiversity will help us to understand our ecosystem and make the necessary interventions to protect it,” Ms. Anusha said.
The panchayat had formed teams of two surveyors in each ward . The teams included seasoned surveyors as well as local students. They even collected information from traditional medical practitioners on the uses of medicinal plants available in the locality.
“People are providing information to the survey teams on different species. Thus the public is also undergoing an awareness process on the need to conserve biodiversity,” she added.
Mr. Reddy visited the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu community reserve, also the first-of-its-kind in the State, where local people themselves are guardians of the mangrove ecosystem in the region.
