Why in news?

Urban ecologist Vijay Nishanth and Bengaluru NavaNirmana Party have written to CM Basavaraj Bommai, requesting him to convene a state wildlife board meeting and clear the proposal to declare Hesaraghatta grasslands as a conservation reserve.

Highlights

• Bengaluru is in desperate need of this green cover in the north west parts of the city due to depletion of groundwater, loss of green cover and flooding during monsoon
• It is a unique ecosystem with a mixture of grassland, scrubland, and a lake . The Hesaraghatta lakebed area and grasslands in the surrounding catchment area in the northwest of city are important reservoirs of biodiversity.
• In addition to supporting wildlife, these grasslands also provide valuable ecosystem services that are critical to the residents
• Hesaraghatta Lake, which might be revived as a catchment area, was a significant supply of drinking water for Bangalore until around 1994

How it is Managed ?

• Once declared a reserve, the government has to constitute a management committee to advise the chief wildlife warden to conserve, manage and maintain the grassland, which hosts a unique ecosystem.