Category Archives: Nature and wildlife

“We – forest-dependent communities, supported by others – declare: The natural forests are a nurturing mother to us. Our very identities, cultures and world-views are closely linked to the forests that provide our primary needs. […] Our cultures discourage greed, the root of scarcity, harm and sorrow.” – An appeal for a new consciousness of empathy and wise governance to protect our rich natural heritage, culture, and harmonious collective future by Kavitha (“Forest Foods & Ecology” Festival, December 12 to 14, 2014 at Sri Aurobindo Society, New Delhi)
www.kisanswaraj.in/2014/12/31/forest-foods-and-ecology/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=16371

“First and foremost, people, particularly indigenous or tribal groups that number in millions live inside or at the periphery of protected areas, and rely on biodiversity for sustaining their livelihoods. Such people have been largely disenfranchised and have no role in management. In fact, in many cases, centralised management of biodiversity has created conflicts between people and managers of protected areas. These conflicts have endangered rather than enhanced conservation.” – Kamaljit S. Bawa (President of the Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) in “Our biodiversity, our life, our future” (The Hindu, 2 August 2010)
https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/article547960.ece
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=5026

“There is a need to explore the tribal consciousness in the backdrop of climate change, development, and deforestation.” – Deepanwita Gita Niyogi in “India’s Adivasi Identity in Crisis” (Pulitzer Center May 27, 2021)
https://pulitzercenter.org/projects/indias-adivasi-identity-crisis
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=17554

“Irrespective of differences in lifestyle, all tribals possess an unconditional love for nature.” – Tribal scholar writer K. Vasamalli on the occasion of a two-day meet organised by Sahitya Akademi in association with Jharkhandi Bhasha Sahitya Sanskriti Akhra to commemorate the birth centenary of Alice Ekka, the country’s first acclaimed woman tribal writer (The Telegraph, Jharkhand, 8 September 2017)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22856

“Historically, India’s environmental movement has revolved around wildlife conservation — tigers, leopards, elephants — yet there was little inclusion of sustainability in our models of development. […] Our task is to retain urban biodiversity and augment it. […] We’ve now started a joint project with the government to create a garden and learning resource center for school children. We’ll teach about edible landscaping, butterfly gardens, sensory gardens, vertical landscapes, and urban bee keeping. We’ll need these concepts as the population rises and the land area shrinks. […] By and large, the middle class and the educated are changing and becoming an important voice. They are the voice demanding change and action from the government.” – Rashneh Pardiwala in “Why It’s Hard to ‘Change Mindsets’ on Environmental Protection Among India’s Elites”; interview on environmental education at her Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE) in Mumbai (Asia Blog, 27 July 2015)
https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/interview-why-its-hard-change-mindsets-environmental-protection-among-indias-elites
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=11066

“For centuries tribals have lived peacefully with nature. In this period of ecological catastrophes like climate change, the tribal way of life shows the alternatives we need to promote peace, sustainability and justice. Precisely at the time when we need to learn from tribals, to defend the future of our civilisation, and humanity the future of the tribals is itself under threat.” – Declaration on Adivasi Swaraj by Navdanya (a network of seed keepers and organic producers across 16 states in India)
https://navdanya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=79:declaration-on-adivasi-swaraj&catid=12:earth-democracy
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=6068

“The hermitage [asrama] is set so deep in the forest that it is almost another world, enveloped in a translucent green of sun and trees. […] The asrama is at one level an intrusion into the forest by the people of the grama [village], an intrusion sought to be stemmed by those living in the forest. […] Was the threat to forest dwellers a way of preventing the illegal clearing of forests and of curbing shifting cultivation?” – Romila Thapar (Emeritus Professor of History, Jawaharlal Nehru University) in “Perceiving the Forest: Early India Studies” (History, February 2001)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/025764300101700101
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=5851

“India has arguably had the technology to wipe out most animals for centuries, but more that half of the world tigers and two-thirds of the worlds Asian Elephants continue to live alongside people, themselves packed in at about 450 in every square kilometre. Should the Indian conservation ethos build on this long religious and cultural ‘tolerance’ to wildlife or should we completely ignore it and copy everyone else in the world?” – Tarsh Thekaekara (thesholatrust.org) in “The Human Elephant (Wildlife) Relationship” (May 2014)
www.thesholatrust.org/elephants/
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22634

“The Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats […] would result in resource generation through tourist visits, thereby fostering in securing tiger source areas and other areas important for wildlife conservation, besides being helpful in sustaining life support systems as well as ensuring the food, water and livelihood security. The implementation of the schemes would be done through the respective States in designated Tiger Reserves, Protected Areas and Elephant Reserves.”  – Government of India’s Umbrella Scheme of Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats beyond 12th Plan (Press Information Bureau, 5 September 2018)
https://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1545068
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=4226

“Dams, irrigation and factory farms are linked to 25% of infectious diseases in humans. Travel, transport and food supply chains have erased borders and distances. Climate change has contributed to the spread of pathogens. […] The science is clear that if we keep exploiting wildlife and destroying our ecosystems, then we can expect to see a steady stream of [zoonotic] diseases jumping from animals to humans in the years ahead. […] To prevent future outbreaks, we must become much more deliberate about protecting our natural environment.” – Inger Andersen (Under-secretary general and executive director of the UN Environment Programme), quoted in “Coronavirus: Fear over rise in animal-to-human diseases” (BBC News, 6 July 2020)
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53314432
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=22575