Kakinada, June 2, 2018: Mr SLB Misra, Chairman, AP State Biodiversity Board speaking to journalists from the East Coast of India gathered at Kakinada for the 3-day MSSRF-NBA media workshop on ‘Biodiversity Conservation for Climate Change Adaption’ said that conserving local biodiversity can go a long way in regenerating forests, and serious efforts need to start by managing grazing and forest fires. “Climate change and biodiversity are closely interlinked for the more we conserve, better the adaptation, and more adaptation means less mitigation efforts.” Thus the need for biodiversity conservation measures to go hand in hand with climate change adaptation actions, Mr SLB Misra added, reiterating the need to mainstream biodiversity as part of the development process.  “The media plays a major role in delivering this message to policymakers and general public with well-informed articles,” he concluded.

Mr Chandra Mohan Reddy, Former Member, AP State Biodiversity Board spoke on balancing human and forest biodiversity since tribal communities are totally dependent on forest produce for their livelihood. “We must protect our plant and animal species to ensure ecological balance since ecosystems are in turn fragile, and human beings will face difficulties in the future, especially the tribal populations in the Eastern Ghats.” He is also Managing Director, AP Greening and Beautification Corporation, and as part of that initiative said that efforts are now being taken to grow some ornamental forest plant species in urban gardens areas. “This is still very new since we need to first see how the plant adapts to its new environment.”

More than 20 journalists from West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telegana, Puducherry and TamilNadu participated at the sensitization workshop organized by National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), Chennai, and M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Chennai, and visited Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary and Papikononda Wildlife Sanctuary to gain better understanding of mangrove ecosystem, Biodiversity Management Communities  and forest biodiversity