In many casesbiodiversityconservation efforts tend to be viewed as being in conflict with economic interests. Turning this belief on its head, theGoa State Board(GSBB) has taken the first step to becoming the only government body in the country to begin production, along withlocalcommunities, of products derived from local bio-Resources.
Theboardis planning to set up five other centres mainly in the mining belt in Goa.
While a part of the income derived from the sales will be paid back to locals involved in the processing unit, the rest of the amount will go back into conservation of the local biodiversity and into funding other sustainability efforts.
Only sustainably harvested bio-resources are being utilized to make the products which are set to be marketed under GSBB brand name GoVan.