Now Reading: Kerala wetland with world’s rarest plant set for heritage tag
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Kerala wetland with world’s rarest plant set for heritage tag
Pandikot Pallam, a wetland in Nileshwaram municipality, Kasaragod, is set to be declared a local biodiversity heritage site. The site hosts Krishnakesara bispinosa, an extremely rare plant recorded nowhere else on Earth,…
Pandikot Pallam, a wetland in Nileshwaram municipality, Kasaragod, is set to be declared a local biodiversity heritage site. The site hosts Krishnakesara bispinosa, an extremely rare plant recorded nowhere else on Earth, along with Rotala tulunadensis and Blyxa kasargodensis.
Municipal Biodiversity Management Committee Vice Chairperson P.M. Sandhya said fencing has been installed to prevent waste dumping and the site will be preserved in its natural state. The committee has asked the Kerala State Biodiversity Board to conduct a detailed study and initiate declaration procedures.
Conservation work began under a model biodiversity project funded by the Board. The municipality will restrict interventions to conservation only, though extending protection is limited by surrounding private properties. District coordinator Akhila V.M. said declaring the site offers legal protection against alteration.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Kerala's local biodiversity heritage site framework operates under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, which allows municipal bodies to declare sites of ecological importance. The designation triggers legal safeguards against development or alteration, enforced by the Kerala State Biodiversity Board. Pandikot Pallam's case mirrors similar efforts like Kattampally in Kannur, though no national list of such sites exists. The protective fencing and pending biodiversity study signal formal recognition may take months. The Board's next step is reviewing the committee's resolution and the detailed study before issuing the declaration order.
Source: thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
