Vishakhapatnam: Forest Department To Set Up Nature & Eco Clubs Across City To Conserve Biodiversity

The state forest department, in association with nature lovers, NGOs, civil society groups, and volunteers, plans to create a framework for establishing nature and eco clubs in Vishakhapatnam. Their objective is to boost public participation in forestation and biodiversity conservation in the metropolitan area.

The clubs will be established throughout the district with the goals of documenting and conserving biodiversity with the active participation of the public, according to Anant Shankar, Visakhapatnam District Forest Officer (DFO) and Curator of Indira Gandhi Zoological Park. The DFO noted that the forest department would also assist in providing infrastructure facilities for such clubs throughout the city.

'Eco Clubs Will Initiate Public Movement'

The focus will be on developing People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRS) in collaboration with local municipal governments. Such eco clubs will be critical in safeguarding the environment and biodiversity in urban areas.

He went on to say that people can make a contribution through eco clubs based on their interests, such as photography, butterfly conservation, bird study, plant and tree conservation, wetlands, and so on. He also stated that every initiative arranged by eco clubs will be catalogued. "We will start the eco clubs soon after considering the opinions and suggestions given by various NGOs. Time-specific deadlines will be set up. The focus will be on involving schools and educational institutions, the corporate sector, societies, resident welfare associations, the Navy, railways, doctors’ associations, etc ," he stated as reported The New Indian Express.

The DFO believes that establishing such eco clubs will initiate a public movement that will help in preserving and conserving the environment. He explained that the forest department will also arrange nature walks, marine exploration trips, and trekking in immaculate forest areas through these clubs. Furthermore, this initiative will assist to converge, channelize, and bring together all the initiatives of various individuals, NGOs, and groups, thereby increasing their effectiveness in making Visakhapatnam a heaven for nature conservation.

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