Conserving precious urban freshwater bodies: A case study of Telangana, India

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) recognizes sovereign rights of States over their bioresources and also determines terms of accessing them, which is subject to their national legislation. India is among the 196 Contracting Parties to CBD and enacted the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 to claim sovereign rights over its bioresources and associated traditional knowledge (TK), and to meet its national obligations on conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization. This legislation, and the Biological Diversity Rules, 2004 framed under it, provide a three-tier legal framework for regulating access to biological resources (and associated TK) while ensuring fair and equitable sharing of resulting benefits. This paper presents the declaration of Biodiversity Heritage Site under national legislation, steps taken towards declaration and conservation of biodiversity heritage site in Telangana State, India under the Telangana State Biological Diversity Rules, 2015 framed under section 63 (1) of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002. This paper will also help in understanding the process involved in declaration of Ameenpur Lake as Biodiversity Heritage Site (BHS) in Telangana State, India under section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Rule 21 of the Telangana State Biological Diversity Rules, 2015.   Key words: Biodiversity heritage site, biodiversity profile, process involved in declaration.