Dehradun: India’s first ‘grass conservatory’ was inaugurated at Ranikhet in Almora district, on Sunday. Funded under the Central Government’s CAMPA scheme, the conservatory spread over an area of two acres was developed in three years by the research wing of Uttarakhand Forest Department.
The project aims to create awareness about the importance of grass species, promote their conservation, and facilitate research in the field. Chief Conservator of Forest (research) Sanjiv Chaturvedi said that around 90 different grass species of significant scientific, ecological, medicinal, and cultural import have been grown in the conservation area. The initiative assumes importance as it has been proved in latest researches that grasslands are more effective in carbon sequestration’ than forest land, he added.
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Chaturvedi said that it is also important because grasslands are facing various types of threats and their area is shrinking, endangering an entire ecosystem of insects, birds, and mammals dependent on them. He further said that grasses are economically the most important of all flowering plants because of their nutritious grain and soil forming function, adding that the conservation area has seven different categories of grass species including those that are known for their aromatic, medicinal, fodder, ornamental, agricultural, and religious uses.
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