Bengaluru: BBMP to reconvene biodiversity panel to finalize budget for citywide documentation

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is set to reconvene the Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) in the coming week to finalize the financial requirements for updating Bengaluru’s long-overdue People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR). This initiative aims to catalogue the city’s biodiversity comprehensively, a task not undertaken since the original register was created in 2009-10.

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A detailed proposal was submitted last year to the Urban Development Department, outlining a zone-wise budget of ₹118.9 lakh. However, the plan was rejected for unspecified reasons. The BMC now intends to revisit and possibly revise the proposal, although officials suggest the earlier estimate still holds with only minor adjustments needed.

The proposed activities under the financial plan include forming zonal BMCs, conducting public awareness campaigns, biodiversity surveys, training programs for data collection, and integrating traditional knowledge. The process will also document the city’s heritage sites and involve field experts conducting Participatory Rural Appraisals, household surveys, and interviews with local leaders, NGOs, and subject matter experts.

Despite the earlier efforts, the current status of biodiversity in the city remains largely unknown. Experts stress the urgency of this exercise, especially amid concerns that some species may be endangered or nearing extinction.

The documentation, once initiated, is expected to take at least a year. Officials emphasize the importance of identifying and conserving the city’s remaining natural resources before further ecological degradation occurs.