Workshop begins economic valuation of bio-resources for Access & Benefit Sharing

GANGTOK, 23 April: A two-day state-level capacity building workshop on “Economic valuation of Bio-resources for Access and Benefit Sharing” began here at the Forest Department conference hall today. The workshop aims to create awareness and build capacity among the key biodiversity stakeholders/ managers.
Sikkim is in the process of implementing its “Access and Benefit Sharing” [ABS] project with the objective to strengthen the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act & Rules. This implementation will facilitate researchers, local NGOs and user agencies for better assess to locally available resources for economic proposes and strengthen the management of the forest resources for better study and research analysis.
The workshop will be addressing key issues on Economic Valuation of Bio-resources for Access and Benefit Sharing project and is being organized by the Sikkim Biodiversity Board and National Biodiversity Authority. Representatives from the National Biodiversity Authority are the key facilitators for the workshop which will seek to bring Sikkim at par with the four other project implementing states - Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Delivering the keynote address today, Dr. Ishwar Poojar, Project Manager - UNEP-GEF-MoEF, ABS Programme, National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, emphasized the need for better management and implementation of the bio-resources through proper channels.
He said that the project on strengthening the implementation of the Biological Diversity Act and Rules with focus on its Access & Benefit Sharing provisions deals with assessing and quantifying the economic value of biological resources, using appropriate methodologies to determine benefit sharing, which will help in better implementation of the Biological Diversity Act, and inform national decision makers on prioritizing conservative action.
SS Bhadauria, Additional Chief Conservator of Forests, while addressing the inaugural session said that the identification of bio-resources or genetic resources with potential for ABS from selected ecosystems such as forests, wetlands and agriculture and their valuation [estimation of the real value] is an important task in this project. The major activities coming under this head, include- developing standardized economic valuation methods for valuing bio-resources, organizing three national workshops and five state level workshops on understanding the valuation methodology, and using the same in decision making, developing a methodology for using the economic valuation in deciding ABS permits, and developing a data base covering the economic valuation information in finalizing the ABS agreements.
Former Principal Director, Animal Husbandry Department, Sonam Paljor Bhutia, who chaired the inaugural session, in turn said that Sikkim, because of its geographical attributes, enjoys the privilege of conserving, protecting and properly utilizing diverse resources.
Mr. Bhutia urged the preservation and proper utilization of the bio-resources adding that the large quantities of divergent bio-resources are collected or extracted from the ecosystems, which human beings can directly or indirectly use either as food, medicines or biomass. These goods are also involved in research and development, which lead to the innovation of new consumer products and trade, and act as the basic raw-material or input factor in manufacturing many products.