Himachal Pradesh: an approach for conservation and management of biological resources

Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety, variability and the processes within and between all microorganisms, plants and animals both wild and domesticated and the ecological systems where they coexist and inhabit. Biological Diversity Act, 2002 was enacted in the parliament of India on 5^th February 2003. This Act is an Act of the parliament of India for preservation of biological diversity in India and provides mechanism for equitable sharing of benefits arising out of use of traditional biological resources and knowledge. The Act was enacted to meet the obligations under Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to which India is a party and for implementation of Act, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) was established in 2003. Himachal Pradesh Biodiversity Board has been constituted by the Govt of Himachal Pradesh in State Council for Science Technology and Environment under Section 22 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. The paper discusses the salient features of BD Act, 2002 and role of NBA, SBBs and BMCs with special focus on initiatives taken by Himachal Pradesh State Biodiversity Board.