Shergaon Biodiversity Management Committee has been awarded the Best Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) in India for 2021.
The award was given by National Biodiversity Authority, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity(IDB) 2021 under the same category.
The India Biodiversity Awards is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Biodiversity Authority and the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP).
It is an innovative mechanism to identify and recognize the efforts of individuals, communities and institution working towards biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources, access and benefit-sharing and biodiversity governance.
The winners of the India Biodiversity Awards carry a memento, a Certificate and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakhs each for individuals and Rs. 5 lakhs each for institutions.
The award is given in five categories
Category I: Conservation of Wild Species
Category II: Conservation of Domesticated Species: Institution and Individual
Category III: Best Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC)
Category IV: Sustainable Use of Biological Resources: Institution and Individual
Category V: Replicable Mechanisms for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
The Best Biodiversity Management Committee Award aspires to appreciate Biodiversity Management Committees for the exemplary work in documentation of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge; generating awareness; establishing best practices in biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, social and gender equity and empowerment and equitable sharing of benefits.
Shergaon BMC was established on March 15, 2016, in consultation with Senji Blu-Shergaon Village Council.
The committee comprises 5 Male members, 2 women members and DK Monoji, Range Forest Officer as a Secretary, Shergaon Forest Division, Arunachal Pradesh.
Pem Norbu Thungon Chairman, Shergaon BMC dedicated the award to the ancestors for preserving the forest and all the villagers of Shergaon.
He also thanked the Shergaon Village Council for consistent support to the BMC activities.
He said he is very happy about the award and would like to thank the Arunachal Pradesh State Biodiversity Board, Itanagar, DFO and the team of Shergaon Forest Division for their dedicated involvement.
Rinchong Lama, Chairman Shergaon Village Council Congratulated the BMC team for being awarded the Best BMC in India.
Head GB DK Lama while congratulated the team BMC said that he is so happy to see the efforts of Villagers being recognized at the National Level and hoped that BMC would carry forward the good work in future too.
The BMC Shergaon has worked on documentation of endemic flora and fauna of the Village forest.
Some of the prominent plants’ species like Paris polyphylla, Taxusbaccata, Swertia chirayita, Rubia cordifolia, Valeriana jatamansi, Quercus sps, Artemisia vulgaris, Rhododendron species and faunas like red panda, flying squirrels, civets, yellow-throated marten, Himalayan Asiatic black bear, barking deer etc have been documented.
The BMC shergaon has made it compulsory for all the researchers to take prior permission from Shergaon Village Council and BMC for all their activities under their jurisdiction to avoid misuse of biodiversity knowledge of the area.
BMC Shergaon has initiated an ethnomedicinal plant garden, in-situ Rhododendron garden, school nature club, training of nature guide etc.
