Consultations on economics of ecosystems, biodiversity in India begins tomorrow

NEW DELHI - The two day’s stakeholder consultations to develop the framework for strengthening biodiversity conservation programs and initiating action for assessing the economic value of India’s natural capital begins here on Thursday.

It aims to recognize, demonstrate, capture and optimize the value of biodiversity and ecosystem service and targets policy actions at national and state levels, improvements in business assessments and disclosure, and improved citizen awareness of the issues involved.

The consultations will cover subjects like financing biodiversity in India, introduction of the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity in India, the economic of ecosystem and biodiversity (TEEB) and its relevance for Business and NGO, climate change concerns and biodiversity conservation, and application of economic valuation tools.

India is one of the recognized mega-diverse countries of the world. With an area of about 329 mha, India is 7th largest country in the world. India has wide range of ecosystems and habitats such as forests, grasslands, wetlands, coastal and marine ecosystems, and deserts which in turn have contributed to immense biological diversity with large variation in species of plants, animals and microbes.

With only 2.4 per cent of world’s land area, India accounts for 7 to 8 percent of the recorded plant and animal species of the world. (ANI)