The Hindu Business Line : Biodiversity

This is with reference to "Protecting Biodiversity," (Business Line, May 23): The author is right in cautioning against the economies of scale principle being applied blindly to the farm sector.

The empirical evidence clearly suggests that the integrators pass on the diseconomies, especially the internal kinds, either to the producers or the consumers depending on the policy environment and effectiveness of the respective bargaining strengths.

In India, both the rural producers of raw material and the consumers are at the mercy of the capricious babudom operating some vague statutory provisions as regulators. Therefore, the vulnerability of the farm sector inhabitants is magnified due to their livelihood security. The current wheat imbroglio is a case in point.

The Biological Diversity Act 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules 2004 in India have mandated constitution of biodiversity management committees to prepare a People's Biodiversity Register in consultation with the local people.

Two very pertinent questions that we must raise here are: How many State governments have constituted BMCs at the local body level, and which State-level functionaries are technically competent to advise such local initiatives? It is time that the institutions of higher learning that enjoy a varied distribution are challenged to take up this task under the rubric `making education relevant.'

J. George

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