Guwahati: The Centre for the Environment at the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) celebrated the International Day for Biological Diversity 2023 with an event on campus.

The day promotes understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues and encourages actions to conserve and sustainably use natural resources. This year’s theme is ‘From Agreement to Action: Build Back Biodiversity’.

Addressing the event, Prof. Parameswar K. Iyer, Officiating Director, IIT-G, said the entire North East is a biodiversity hotspot. “It is our responsibility to preserve our diversity for future generations and bring awareness to society.

Celebrating biodiversity should be part of our everyday lives. Every small being and every micro-organism should be preserved. IIT Guwahati is taking initiatives through its Centre for Indian Knowledge System to document the traditional knowledge of local communities and tribal areas,” he added.

Research scholar Jon Jyoti Kalita delivered an awareness lecture on LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment), an India-led global mass movement curated and piloted by NITI Aayog and implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment.

The United Nations dedicates May 22 every year as ‘International Day for Biological Diversity’ to create awareness about biodiversity issues. It serves as an occasion to highlight the importance of biodiversity for the planet’s well-being as well as the urgent need to protect and conserve it.

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