Divar’s Green Warrior

Hycintha Aguiar, a 24 year old biologist based in Divar Island, is the chairperson of a local biodiversity management committee and is documenting DIvar island’s biodiversity in the People’s Biodiversity Register, in consultation with the local community. By involving local community members, including school children, she hopes to build ownership and bring people back in touch with nature. She hopes that cataloguing this biodiversity across domains and communities will help preserve the unique island ecosystems from further disruptions in the future as these registers can be used as legal tools to prevent activities that harm biodiversity. Preparing People’s Biodiversity Registers is mandated under India’s Biological Diversity Act, 2002 and Rules, 2004. Alongside this, Aguiar along with other members of the village’s biodiversity management committee organise meetings and bird walks to increase awareness about the island’s biodiversity.

https://scroll.in/article/915873/a-24-year-old-woman-is-leading-the-way-in-documenting-the-biodiversity-of-a-small-goan-island