Jharkhand's First Biodiversity Heritage Site: Canary Pahar Management Plan Drafted

Ranchi: The Jharkhand Biodiversity Board (JBB) has drafted the biodiversity site management plan for Canary Pahar in Hazaribag district, the state’s first notified biodiversity heritage site.

Canary Pahar is the first of 111 sites identified by the board to receive the status from the state govt, positioning it as the 45th biodiversity heritage site in India.

Board chairperson Vishwanath Shah said, “Last week, we conducted a meeting with the six biodiversity management committees (BMCs) of Canary Pahar to discuss the strategy to manage and conserve the site. Based on their inputs, the draft site management plan was prepared and shared with them for the feedback.”

A JBB official said, “The proposal for the site was made with inputs from the BMCs and submitted to the govt. We would felicitate these six committees on Friday on the occasion of International Biodiversity Day to acknowledge their contribution behind the notification.”

The JBB had identified 111 potential heritage sites across the state between September and December 2024. In the first phase, proposals for 20 sites were submitted to the state govt, of which Canary Pahad was the first to be notified on November 14, 2025.

“The govt had queries about the remaining sites, for which we have submitted the response. The govt is considering the remaining proposals and we are hopeful for the approval. The JBB is working on the reports for the remaining identified areas,” Shah added.

Under Section 41 of The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, every local body at the gram panchayat level is required to constitute a BMC to promote the conservation, sustainable use, and documentation of local biological diversity. Canary Pahar, spread over 2110.67 acres, spans five panchayats and eight villages, incorporating six BMCs that comprise seven members each.