VISAKHAPATNAM: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday visited the Forest Research Centre for Coastal Ecosystem, the only such institute in the country, here and inaugurated the Marine Interpretation unit. Speaking after inaugurating the unit, the Vice-President said the ultimate aim of science is to bring happiness and make people’s lives better. Describing the centre as ‘knowledge pilgrimage’, he said the impact of global warming, increasing frequency of heatwaves, cyclones, flooding, sea-level rise and changes in monsoon behaviour affect the functioning of biogeochemical cycles of the coastal ecosystems.
He called upon people to become environmentally conscious and adopt sustainable lifestyles in times of climate change. “It is high time that we make amends to bring the desired change in the health of our planet.” The V-P recounted his experience of his visit to the centre and wrote that the display units in the Marine Interpretation Unit showing various wood samples at progressive stages of degradation were very informative. He was apprised of the bird diversity in the Eastern Ghats as well as the species associated with mangroves along the 114-km coastline in the district.