With support from the Kochi Municipal Corporation and the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development, a workshop on National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan and Local Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan development guidelines was organised under the INTERACT-Bio Project. 

The workshop aimed to introduce the concepts of national, state and local biodiversity strategy action plans to the participants and highlight the need for the same.

It was attended by participants from 18 Indian cities, 3 state government departments, 4 state biodiversity boards, and National Biodiversity Authority.

India is a signatory to the Convention of Biodiversity and part of its commitment to the same we have a National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan and National Biodiversity Action Plan. All states in India also have State Biodiversity Strategy Action Plans, in line with the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan.

At the local level, it is the mandate of each urban local body (city governments) and each village panchayat to form Biodiversity Management Committees. Development of Local Level Biodiversity Strategy Action Plans is also essential.

Guidelines for development of NBSAP and LBSAP have been developed by ICLEI and have recently been accepted by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This national workshop introduced these guidelines to the participants.

Mrs. Soumini Jain, Honourable Mayor, Kochi Municipal Corporation delivered the presidential address and expressed her gratitude to ICLEI for having brought participants from across the country to Kochi for such an important event. Dr. B. Meenakumari, Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority, delivered the special address and called upon all local governments to initiate the process of development of local biodiversity strategy action plans for effective conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources.

The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) and supported by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and National Biodiversity Authority.

The INTERACT-Bio project is being implemented in three cities – Kochi, Panaji and Mangaluru, and it aims at mainstreaming biodiversity planning at the national and sub-national level. The local and sub-national biodiversity strategy and action plans (BSAPs), developed through the project will help to provide a comprehensive and coordinated framework for mainstreaming biodiversity in municipal action and decision-making processes, even across sectors.