Hyderabad biodiversity improves significantly

Section on Native Biodiversity improves with a score of 27 out of 40 compared to 15 out of 40 in 2012

Hyderabad: The biodiversity of Hyderabad has richly enhanced in the last one decade with a significant improvement in all the key indices.

Reflective of the State government’s sustained and thoughtful efforts aimed at green and sustainable development of the city in the last ten years, the City Biodiversity Index of Hyderabad City 2022 released by the MA&UD Minister, KT Rama Rao here on Tuesday, document considerable positive changes in various parameters – from native biodiversity to ecosystem services provided by biodiveristy and governance and management of biodiversity.

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Hyderabad in fact became the first city in the country in the year 2012 to have its City Biodiversity Index (CBI), and now, also became the first city to have its CBI updated the second time.

In 2012, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation administered the CBI within Hyderabad city to understand, plan and the review the city’s status in the context of its biodiversity.

If Hyderabad scored 36 points out of a total 92 points in the year 2012, the exercise now has revealed a sharp progress on all fronts with the city scoring a total of 57 out of 92.

The city’s score in the section on Native Biodiversity has improved significantly with a score of 27 out of 40 when compared to 15 out of 40 in the year 2012.

Similarly, the indicators related to Ecosystem Services Provided by Biodiversity in the City contributed 7 out of a possible 16 points while it was only 4 in 2012. This implies that Hyderabad city’s biodiversity health has improved significantly since then.

Indicators which correspond to Governance and Management of Biodiversity in the City too rose considerably and now recorded received a score of 23 out of 36 points. In the 2012 application, the city scored 17 points in this section.

Self-assessment tool for cities

Developed and maintained by the Singapore National Parks Department (NParks) in 2010, with support from ICLEI, the CBD and others, the CBI is the only biodiversity index designed specifically for monitoring and evaluating biodiversity in cities. The index is also called the ‘Singapore Index (SI)’ in recognition of Singapore’s contribution and leadership.

The CBI is a self-assessment tool for cities to evaluate and monitor the progress of their biodiversity conservation efforts against their own individual baselines.

The CBI scoring is quantitative in nature. A total of 23 indicators make up the index, measuring a city’s native biodiversity, the ecosystem services provided and biodiversity governance. Scores range between zero to four points for each indicator, with a maximum overall score of 92.

1,350 water bodies

Hyderabad, once known as the city of lakes, presently has around 1,350 water bodies, occupying an area of 2,000 ha. The city also has important rock formations which cover an area of 1,600 ha.

There are also Protected Areas (PAs) within the city in the form of two National Parks- Kasu Brahmananda Reddy (KBR) National Park and Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park, which host considerable diversity.

The University of Hyderabad campus contains vegetation which represents ‘Deccan shrub jungle’ with scattered trees typical of the semi-arid tropics. The campus currently hosts 39 species which are globally under threat, out of a whopping 734 plant species.