Gandhinagar, August 7: PRONE to trumpeting its efficiency when it comes to things administrative, the State Government has been moving at a snail’s pace in setting up a fully functional Biodiversity Board.

The Board is mandated under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, under a national biodiversity authority. Having become effective in 2003, Gujarat set up the Board only in 2006, and took over a year to appoint a Member (Secretary) in February this year.

As if this was not enough, close to six months having elapsed since the appointment, the Board is still to get a functioning office and a staff. Even its first meeting had to be held in June only in chief secretary’s meeting room, with the agenda being further appointments and a place for the Member (Secretary) to sit. More than a month later, the Board still functions from nowhere.

Not that it is a powerless body. Headed by the Chief Secretary, the Board has Principal Secretary (Forests), Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, and experts from the field as its members. It is mandated to advise the state government on matters relating to conservation of biodiversity, and has been provided with various statutory, regulatory, developmental, and research powers for the purposes.

The State accounts for five per cent of country’s biodiversity, the corresponding figures for flora and fauna being 9.5 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively. In terms of biodiversity that is characterized by a diverse gene pool, Gujarat has over 900 species of medicinal plants, apart from 450 marine flora, and 783 marine fauna.

Senior officials say things are being worked out though. “We have sanctioned Rs 2 lakh for the Board, while Rs 5 lakh has already come from the National Biodiversity Board in Chennai. The department has also managed to find some rooms at the Forest Research Centre on the outskirts of the city. The Board should start functioning soon,” says a senior forest official.

“Biodiversity is the natural biological capital of the planet and we are charged with monitoring its protection within our jurisdiction. There is a lot that can be done in Kutch and along the coast in the State. But as of now we have been busy in the process of collating information from similar bodies across the country, and gathering details on rules that help us perform,” says NS Yadav, Member Secretary.