Biodiversity of the state needs to be protected

HYDERABAD: Children and stakeholders who participated in the International Biodiversity Day celebrations and Biodiversity Fair at Jubilee Hall in the city on Sunday said that there was an urgent need to protect the biodiversity of the state and fight against its exploitation."Our precious resources are being robbed and other countries are trying to patent our rich resources and make huge money. Government should see that our resources are protected from exploitation," Stirthi, a student of Hyderabad Public School said. She had represented India on environmental issues at Brazil recently.The chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Board (APSBB) R Hampaiah said that several countries have claimed patents on turmeric, garlic, basmati and several other agricultural products and animals like the Ongole Bull. "Several western countries want to use our resources and there is no effort from the government to protect our resources," he said.Hampaiah suggested the need for establishing Biodiversity Management Committees in every state to claim over their own resources so that nobody will claim a patent over it in future.As part of the celebrations, awards were distributed to as many as 137 school children of various categories.The awards were based on the two summer camps held recently in Rangareddy, Medak, Mahabubnagar, Karimnagar and Nalgonda districts.It was organised by Jawahar bal Bhavan and Synergy India Foundation.