People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR) and City Biodiversity Index (CBI) for the city of Panaji

People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) are the documents developed by the local Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 of India. The documentation of local biological diversity prepared in the form of PBRs should serve the purpose of identifying the habitats/ecosystems for preservation, identification of local land races, folk varieties and cultivars, stocks and breeds of domesticated animals, and microorganisms. Along with the information on species and habitats, PBRs document the traditional knowledge associated with the biodiversity. Besides, the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs projected that the urban population would double by 2050, from 3.3 billion in 2007 to 6.4 billion in 2050 (about 70% of the world population). Thus, the major impact on biodiversity will be from urban settlements. Unfortunately, there has been a lack of indices available for measuring biodiversity in cities and proposed establishing an index to measure biodiversity in cities. In recognition of Singapore’s innovative contribution and leadership, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity formally named the index ‘The Singapore Index on Cities Biodiversity’ also known as the ‘City Biodiversity Index’ or CBI, which will be a self-assessment tool for the management of biodiversity in urban setting.