Indian corporate houses have to take on the biodiversity challenge and some have already pioneered in the field,Ramakrishnan Mukundan, the Managing Director of Tata Chemicals Limited, said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the thematic session on Mainstreaming Biodiversity for Responsible Business, he said that after the COP 11 Convention on Biological Diversity, a move to start India Biodiversity Business Initiative (IBBI) emerged. Some companies started this voluntarily, and the government roped in Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) to get more of them to join in. (COP11 is the acronym for the session of the UN conference that deals with climate change.)

The event was held in cooperation with the International Union for Conservation at the World Sustainable Development Summit organised by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in Delhi.

"The initiative started two years back with 16 member companies. Today, there are 26 companies in the IBBI", said Mukundan.

NGOs, government, research organizations and business houses got together to make this happen,.

"It is essential for businesses to understand how biodiversity resources are used. If there is one metre sea level rise, salt pans will get submerged, and the production could be totally lost. Every element is under stress and threat, there are risks and opportunities, and we need to use right environmental management practices", said Mukundan.

India, being one of the countries with high land stress, industries, civil societies need to work on this along with the support of government.

"Today, the awareness has increased, and international funding agencies like IFC (International Finance Corporation) look at companies that adopt biodiversity practices before funding them," said Mukundan.

Tata Chemicals Limited initiated the 'Save the Whale Shark Campaign' to bring in conservation awareness among coastal communities and saving them. "Nature provides us ecosystem services. If nature is providing services for us, we need to pay for," said Mukundan.

JR Bhatt, Advisor, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India said, "There is a need for low carbon, resource-efficient and socially inclusive ways, and businesses are in this path."

The planet's natural living structure gives us US$ 72 trillion worth of goods and services. The pollination services are at US$190 billion per year in the agricultural sector.

"We have a 2030 SDG target, and we are a party to it. We have the capacity to work on this without depending the external agencies." Bhatt added