Relevance for Banking, SSC & RBI Grade B exams: Environment
The Calicut University botanical garden has been officially gazetted as Keralam’s second biodiversity heritage site, a recognition following efforts by former botany professor Santhosh Nambi, the National Biodiversity Board, and the State Biodiversity Board. This 19.5-acre garden, established in 1968, boasts an extensive collection of rare plants, including bryophytes, ferns, cacti, aquatic plants, wild ginger, wild bananas, and medicinal herbs, with species sourced from the Western Ghats, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and north-eastern States. It also preserves an additional 13.5 acres of natural greenery, features tactile and olfactory plant displays for visually impaired visitors, and includes large water reservoirs that aid groundwater recharge in adjacent areas. The first such site in Keralam is the Ashramam Mangrove area near Ashtamudi Lake creek in Kollam.
For Banking, SSC, and RBI Grade B aspirants, this development is relevant under the Environment section of current affairs. Questions may arise regarding the location of Keralam’s second biodiversity heritage site, its specific features like the types of plants housed, or the significance of such designations. Furthermore, the mention of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Bioprospecting, funded jointly by the Central and State governments under the Pradhan Mantri Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan scheme, links to government initiatives and funding for research and conservation, which can be tested in general awareness sections. Understanding the role of biodiversity heritage sites and the bodies involved in their declaration (National and State Biodiversity Boards) is crucial for comprehensive preparation.
Source: The Hindu
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