Bhubaneswar: Emphasizing that “harmony with nature is essential to provide a better quality of life,” Odisha’s Forest, Environment, and Climate Change Minister, Shri Ganesh Ram SingKhuntia, today urged for the protection and sustainable use of the state’s rich biodiversity.
Speaking as Chief Guest at the state-level International Day for Biological Diversity celebration, Minister Shri SingKhuntia highlighted the day’s 2025 theme, “Harmony with Nature and its Sustainable Development.”
The Minister stressed the duty to responsibly manage natural resources like land, water, animals, and forests for future generations, proposing the inclusion of sustainable practices in educational curricula. He underscored Odisha’s unique biodiversity, spanning from the Eastern Ghats to the Bay of Bengal, and its significant contribution to India’s ecological landscape, with 36.71% of the state covered by forest and tree cover.
Minister Shri SingKhuntia also detailed the state’s robust legal and administrative framework for biodiversity conservation. He noted the implementation of the Biodiversity Act 2002 (amended 2023) and the 2009 establishment of the State Biodiversity Board, which has since constituted 7,256 Biodiversity Management Committees.
The Board actively promotes public awareness and documents the state’s biological wealth through public biodiversity inventories and research, fulfilling the core objective of engaging the general public in conservation efforts.