Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 22 - Kerala State Biodiversity Board is to create a Peoples' Bio-diversity Register (PBR) in the tribal panchayat of Idamalakkudi in Idukki district to protect the rich bio-diversity of the region.

The Board conducted a survey in the village, situated in thick forests of Idukki, for a detailed bio-diversity assessement. A 20-member team of KSBB led by member secretary K P Laladhas, conducted a week-long assessment recently, official sources here said.

Idamalakkudi panchayat covers an area 106 sq km of forests with a tribal population of 2,236 including 1,040 females.

After long hours of trekking, the KSBB team learnt that medicinal plants in the area were facing extinction as they were being taken away by traders, which was causing concern to the tribal community who depended entirely on the forest for food, shelter and medicine.

The PBR was created in an attempt to protect the bio-diversity in the region to check the loss of endemic medicinal plants, Laladhas said in the release.

He also said that the Board was planning to establish bio-diversity hotspots named as `Santhisthalas' to showcase the rich bio-diversity of the state in educational institutions across the country. PTI