Minister of State for Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh, launched India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) in Colombia.

During the launch event, the Minister highlighted India’s ‘whole-of-government’ and ‘whole-of-society’ approach in updating its NBSAP. The updated biodiversity strategy acknowledges environmental challenges and outlines strategies to address them. It addresses the challenges through ecosystem restoration, species recovery programs, and community-driven conservation efforts.

The Minister said the updated biodiversity strategy focuses on the restoration of degraded ecosystems, protection of wetlands, and on the sustainable management of marine and coastal areas. Mr. Singh also said that the action plan is a vital roadmap to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, with a longer-term vision of living in harmony with nature by 2050. The document was released on the 30th of last month.