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NT Bureau
Chennai, Sept 22:

        The national environment policy is a successful attempt to address concerns related to global environment and social consequences in the country, Minister of State for Environment and Forests S Regupathy has said.

        Inaugurating a workshop recently on 'Gulf of Munnar Biosphere Reserve: An Ecological Model for Bio diversity Conservation, Livelihood and Sustainability', Regupath said the policy emphasises the need for priority allocation of societal resources for conservation of Entities of Incomparable Value (EIV) both natural and man-made.

        The policy underscores that 'the most secure basis of conservation is to ensure that people dependent on particular resources obtain better livelihood from the act of conservation rather than from degradation of resource', he said.

        The Minister also said an exclusive trust to implement a Global Environment Facility (GEF) project in the Gulf of Mannar (GoM) Biosphere Reserve had been formed. Elaborating on it, he said the seven-year project was funded under the GEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and co-financed by the State and Central governments for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity of the Gulf of Munnar reserve area.

        Presiding over the function, chairman of the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) of India S Kannaiyan said the workshop's main objective was to find understanding of conservation and management of biological resources and open up livelihood opportunities for coastal villagers along the Gulf of Munnar region.

        Director of UNESCO- New Delhi Minja Yangin promised UNESCO's support to Gulf of Munnar in creating greater awareness among the community around this region.

        Director of CAS in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, T Balasubramanian and Director General, South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP)-Sri Lanka Arvind Boaz also spoke.