AMARAVATI, October 18 — The Department of Environment, Forests, Science and Technology, Government of Andhra Pradesh, has notified the comprehensive 'Andhra Pradesh State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035' (AP-SBSAP), establishing a ten-year conservation roadmap aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF).
Strategic Focus Areas of the Plan: 1. Coastal and Marine Ecosystems: Rigorous bio-shield expansion across Coringa Mangroves (India's second-largest mangrove formation) and sustainable eco-restoration of the Kolleru Lake Ramsar site and Pulicat Lagoon. 2. Eastern Ghats Corridors: Dedicated protection corridors for the endemic Red Sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve and mitigation of human-elephant conflict across the Kuppam-Chittoor sanctuary belts. 3. Decentralized Governance: Saturation of People's Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) across 13,326 Gram Panchayats with statutory empowerment of local Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) under Section 41 of the Biological Diversity Act 2002. 4. Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS): Enforcement of ABS compliance on commercial industries utilizing state bio-resources to finance community conservation funds.
Statutory provisions of the Biological Diversity Act 2002, Ramsar wetland criteria, and environmental challenges of the Eastern Ghats are high-frequency questions in APPSC Group-1 and Group-2 General Studies.