SHILLONG, May 24 – Meghalaya yesterday pledged to protect its threatened biodiversity both for ecological as well as economic security.
The pledge was made while celebrating the International Day for Biological Diversity here at the U Soso Tham Auditorium. The Day is commemorated to increase awareness and understanding of issues related to biodiversity.
Forest and Environment Minister Prestone Tynsong said that every individual must contribute in safeguarding the fragile biodiversity of the State which is under threat.
“The time has come for each and every individual to take this pledge to conserve bio-diversity, both for ecological balance and economic security,” he said at the function attended by officials and students.
The Minister said that Meghalaya’s biodiversity has been disappearing rapidly due to a number of reasons. “Meghalaya’s biodiversity is under threat due to deforestation, habitat destruction, mining, jhum cultivation and encroachment, which may put the next generation in a catastrophic situation,” Tyngsong said.
Although Meghalaya has a rich and diverse biodiversity, some of its natural resources are under threat largely due to the unscientific mining industry. Some of the water bodies in Jaintia Hills district have turned acidic due to seepage of acidic content from coal and limestone industry.
The Government is trying to bring in a mining policy to do away with the traditional unscientific mining, but due to pressure from the local mining industry the policy has not been adopted so far.
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