Bengaluru Left Without Biodiversity Committee One Year After GBA Formation

Almost a year after its formation, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) has failed to constitute a functioning Biodiversity Management Committee (BMC) for Bengaluru, leaving the city’s green spaces, native species, and ecological data without statutory local oversight.

Under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the urban local body is legally mandated to set up and ensure the operation of a seven-member statutory committee. In Bengaluru, this responsibility rests with the GBA, but the city currently has no active committee in place.

A GBA official confirmed that while discussions were held regarding the creation of a BMC at each corporation level, the process failed to move forward. Following the establishment of the GBA, the Forest, Environment and Climate Change Cell explored a proposal to establish five BMCs at the corporation level, with each committee comprising seven to 11 members. However, that framework was never implemented.

The key responsibility of a BMC is to prepare and maintain the People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR). The register acts as a comprehensive record of local biological resources, documenting flora, fauna, and ecosystems alongside traditional ecological knowledge and community practices.

Bengaluru formed its first BMC in 2009 and produced its initial People’s Biodiversity Register in 2010. The register has not been updated since that time. The committee was briefly revived in 2019, but it held only a handful of meetings and created no detailed or concrete plan to document the city’s biodiversity.

Biodiversity experts warned that without an active BMC and updated register, urban development in Bengaluru is proceeding without systematic tracking of environmental changes. They emphasized that the committee is essential for mapping native animal, bird, and plant species, as well as running environmental awareness campaigns across schools, colleges, and municipal wards.