Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board and GB Pant Institute sign MoU for Training of Trainers

07 Nov, 2019

BMC Bio-resource Facilitation Centre also inaugurated

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for organising Training of Trainers (ToTs) at district level was signed between the Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board (UBB) and GB Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development (GBPNIHED) at Uttarakhand on 7th November 2019. The Access and Benefit Sharing Partnership project (ABS) implemented by GIZ facilitated the MoU, which was signed by Mr. SS Rasaily, Member Secretary UBB and Dr. R S Rawal, Director of GBPNIEHD. The MoU aims to develop a dedicated training institution well versed with the provisions of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 (BD Act) with adequate infrastructure to provide trainings to a wide range of stakeholders on the BD Act and ABS. Approximately 50 BMCs, representatives and partners witnessed the MoU signing and exchange.

The inauguration of the BMC facilitation centre, part of the good practices development for ABS, also accompanied the event. Mr. Anil Joshi, Technical Expert GIZ gave an overview of GIZ and spoke about the objectives of the MoU which aims to ensure effective implementation of the provisions in the BD Act and a comprehensive training system by the UBB on the following:

• A dedicated training cell at state level
• A comprehensive training system with adequate training facilities in a renowned institution engaged in the biodiversity conservation activities
• State-wide outreach among stakeholders

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rasaily said, “This is a landmark MoU between the State Biodiversity Board with GBPNIEHD which will act as an institution for providing trainings to different stakeholders of the Biodiversity conservation regime.” He explained the different provisions of the BD Act, 2002 and ABS, providing practical examples of traditional knowledge systems and their conservation requirements through documentation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs). The classic case of associated traditional knowledge with turmeric and benefits of documentation was also cited.

Addressing the gathering the Chief Guest, Dr. RS Rawal said, “The important part of supplementing the knowledge to the different stakeholders is a responsibility of the institution and will be well taken care of by the institution. The local demands of soil testing and knowledge on high return agricultural inputs are the mandates of the institution and the BMCs will be supported for these demands whenever asked.” He congratulated GIZ for facilitating the entire process and considered it as a major achievement of the process.

Speaking to the occasion Dr. GCS Negi from GBPNIEHD, spoke about the different experiences of the institution in PBR documentation and BMC strengthening processes. He reiterated the role of the institution on knowledge dissemination and capacity building of different stakeholders.

Mr. Kundan Bisht from CHEA spoke about the process of good practices development for ABS. Mr. Rajendra Pant from Uttarapath presented the PBR documentation process, draft PBR for the Dhaspad BMC and herbarium as part of the PBR documentation in the village.

Dr. Deepak Shah from the World Bank supported Gramya project spoke about convergence areas for the sustenance of the BMC enterprises, the different project interventions and possibility of convergence in the cultivation, harvesting and marketing processes.

The guests also visited the BMC facilitation centre at Dhaspad village to observe the solar drying process by the BMCs to understand the livelihood system of the village. In the end, the villagers thanked all the eminent guests for taking note of the good practices development work at the ground level. They also wished to be involved in the process for biodiversity conservation through benefit sharing and knowledge dissemination.

The event also included awareness about the provisions of Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and discussion on sustainability of creating models of BMCs in the state. As part of the effort, all coordinating agencies like Uttarakhand forest department, Central Himalayan Environment Association (CHEA), Uttarapath, Pithoragarh (for documentation of People’s Biodiversity Register), World Bank supported Gramya project, researchers from Potsdam University and representatives of all the BMCs viz. Dhaspad and Dauram Paloli were present during the event. Dr. Konrad Uebelhoer (Programme Director-IGBP), Dr. Aeshita Mukherjee (Team Leader ABS partnership), Ms. Himani Upadhyay (Researcher from Potsdam University, Germany), Mr. JS Rawat (Range Officer Jageshwar) and his team, Mr. Surendra Bhandari and CHEA team, Mr. Pankaj Karki and Uttarapath team, Junior Block Pramukh Dhauladevi and Mr. Gopal Pandey and Mr. Ishwari Datt Pandey and all BMC members from Dhaspad and Dauram Paloli villages participated in the event.

Glimpses of the Programme