Tamil Nadu may get four new Biodiversity Heritage Sites this year

The Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board (TNBB) has been striving to identify, recognise and notify significant hotspots as Biodiversity Heritage Sites. One such site is Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage Site (Madurai district) which was notified as the first such Biodiversity Heritage Site of Tamil Nadu, in November 2022.

After Arittapatti in Madurai district, four more places in Tamil Nadu may be declared Biodiversity Heritage Sites this year.

The Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Board (TNBB) has been striving to identify, recognise and notify significant hotspots as Biodiversity Heritage Sites. The Arittapatti Biodiversity Heritage Site (Madurai district) was notified as the first such Biodiversity Heritage Site of Tamil Nadu, in November 2022.

Now, the TNBB has submitted a proposal to approve of and notify Kasampatti (Dindigul), Sendirakkilai Sacred Grove (Cuddalore), Idayapatti (Madurai) and Kuriyanapalli Forest Block (Krishnagiri) as Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS).

The TNBB also plans to submit between five and 10 additional proposals for new Biodiversity Heritage Sites to the government this year, said Shekhar Kumar Niraj, former secretary TNBB, who has since retired voluntarily.

The Sendirakillai Sacred Grove BHS proposal was received from the Cuddalore Forest Division, and was assessed on December 6, 2022, by a team from TNBB for its suitability for notification as a BHS. Subsequently, the proposal was submitted to the government on March 9, 2023 along with the boundary details and all necessary details on its ecology and socio-economic aspects.

Field assessments have been undertaken at 20 proposed BH Sites across 11 districts so far, to check for their suitability for declaration as BHSs.