Aravalli Biodiversity Park becomes India’s First OECM Site

• 04 Feb 2022

On World Wetlands Day (2 February 2022) the Aravalli Biodiversity Park in Gurugram (Haryana) was declared India’s first “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECM) site.

• The proposal to declare Aravalli Biodiversity Park an OECM site was sent by the National Biodiversity Authority in December 2020 to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

About OECM Tag

• The OECM tag is given by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to areas that are not protected but support rich biodiversity.
• The OECM tag does not bring any legal, financial or management implications, but designates the area as a biodiversity hotspot on the international map.

Diversity of Aravalli Biodiversity Park

• The Aravalli Biodiversity Park is spread across 390 acres and has semi-arid vegetation (natural vegetation of the park falls within the Northern Tropical Dry Deciduous Forest), with around 300 native plants, 101,000 trees, 43,000 shrubs, and several species of birds.