National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) Notifies Borjuli Wetland as Biodiversity Heritage Site in Assam

Key facts

• The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has officially notified the Borjuli Wetland, located in the Sonitpur district of Assam, as a Biodiversity Heritage site.
• The Borjuli Wetland is a 0.41-hectare island renowned for the cultivation of Oryza rufipogon, which is the wild ancestor and progenitor of modern cultivated rice (Oryza Sativa).
• The National Rainfed Area Authority (NRAA), under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, launched the in-situ conservation and management of Oryza rufipogon in Sonitpur, implemented by the ICAR–National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBPGR) in collaboration with the Assam State Biodiversity Board.
• State governments are empowered to notify Biodiversity Heritage Sites under Section 37 of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, to protect ecologically sensitive ecosystems and endemic species.
• Assam now possesses three Biodiversity Heritage Sites: Borjuli wild rice, Majuli Biodiversity Heritage Sites in the Majuli district, and Hajong Tortoise Lake in the Dima Hasao district.