Previous Year Question

India's first National Centre for Marine Biodiversity (NCMB) was established at Jamnagar in Gujarat. Its major objective is to promote research, documentation, conservation and better management of India's coastal and marine biodiversity.

An important reason for selecting Jamnagar was its location near the Gulf of Kutch. This region is extremely important for coral reefs, mangroves, fishes, marine mammals and numerous other forms of marine life.

The Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch is located nearby. Therefore, researchers have access to an important natural area for studying marine and coastal ecosystems.

NCMB was developed through collaboration between the then Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Gujarat Ecology Commission. It was regarded as India's first research centre dedicated to marine biodiversity and was established under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

The Centre was designed to develop a repository/database of information on coastal and marine organisms, promote research, assist conservation planning, and strengthen training and environmental awareness.

It was also associated with the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), whose broader objective was conservation and sustainable management of coastal areas.