Learn from M S Swaminathan – a world renowned scientist – how biological diversity contributes to public health, people’s livelihood and environmental security in addition to food security: his call on Indian citizens to use and share resources in a more sustainable and equitable manner; outlining the long journey from the 1992 Earth Summit to a commitment to foster inherited knowledge through India’s Biodiversity Act and Genome Saviour Award; an award intended to reward those who are “primary conservers” – guardians of biological diversity.
Watch the video message Biodiversity by Prof M S Swaminathan and related contents the distinguished scientist’s YouTube channel: MSSRF CAbC WAYANAD https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8zYWZfiEF0FD1IBErLwuFA and his website https://www.mssrf.org to understand the larger context of his mission.
In 1997, MSSRF established its first Community Agro-biodiversity Centre in Wayanad district of Kerala to work on ‘community biodiversity management’ by promoting a coalition of the concerned, notably, government departments and voluntary organizations for the conservation of the genetic wealth of Wayanad and surrounding region. | Learn more >>
Read a report in the Hindustani Times (22 November 2018): “Tribesmen bag plant genome saviour award” (for conserving cereals, millets, spices, tubers, vegetables)
Medicinal Plants Used by Traditional Healthcare Practitioners of Dominant Tribes of Koraput in Odisha
The paper documents the medicinal plants growing naturally in the forests used in traditional healthcare system by major tribal communities inhabiting four southern districts of Odisha, India. In the tribal villages, traditional healthcare practitioners (THPs) are responsible for collection, processing, and administration of herbal medicines acquired through inherited knowledge. We recorded 294 medicinal plants, out of which 34 plants are commonly used by nine dominant tribes though the mode of preparation, plant parts used, and the treating ailments vary within the tribes. Malaria, diarrhea, and skin infections are the most commonly occurring diseases treated with a variety of herbal medicines and the tribes depend strongly on the THPs. Although several medicinal plants utilized in primary healthcare have been recognized, their conservation, sustainable use, and benefit sharing is lacking. A garden of medicinal plants was established to protect the traditional knowledge of tribal communities for Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) under the Biodiversity Act (BD Act), 2002, empowering with modern and mass cultivation methods and market linkage for economic benefi ts and as a part of conservation measures of these depleting resources. – Publication date: 2013
Download site (account required):
https://indianmedicine.eldoc.ub.rug.nl/65725/
The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) was established in 1988 as a not-for-profit trust. MSSRF was envisioned and founded by Professor M S Swaminathan with proceeds from the First World Food Prize that he received in 1987. The Foundation aims to accelerate use of modern science and technology for agricultural and rural development to improve lives and livelihoods of communities. | Learn more>>
Source: https://www.mssrf.org/content/medicinal-plants-used-traditional-healthcare-practitioners-dominant-tribes-koraput-odisha
Date accessed: 10 January 2019
Watch the video on BBC News | More about Biodiversity in India >>
“If we take action, the right action – as the report [on Biological Diversity] proposes – we can transition to a sustainable planet.” […] Many good things are happening around the world and these should be celebrated and encouraged […] We have to act now. It is not too late. Otherwise, our children and grandchildren will curse us because we will leave behind a polluted, degraded and unhealthy planet.” – Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary, UN Convention on Biological Diversity
“Extinction: Urgent change needed to save species, says UN”
BBC News, 15 September 2020 >>
For more information on India’s “Biodiversity Act“, “Genome Saviour Award” and related topics, use the search window for select websites maintained by the Indian government, NGOs, Indian universities and international organisations (click here for details):
For a list of websites included in a single search, see below. To search Indian periodicals, magazines, web portals and other sources safely, click here. To find publishing details for Shodhganga’s PhD search results, click here >>
Technical support | No Google Custom Search window or media contents visible on this page? Then try these steps: (1) switch from “Reader” to regular viewing; (2) in your browser’s Security settings select “Enable JavaScript”; (3) check Google support for browsers and devices. More tips >>
List of websites covered by the present Custom search engine
- Action for Community Organisation, Rehabilitation and Development (ACCORD) – https://www.accordweb.in
- Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) – www.atree.org
- Freedom United – www.freedomunited.org
- Government of India (all websites ending on “.gov.in”)
- Shodhganga (a reservoir of Indian theses) – https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in
- Survival International – www.survivalinternational.org
- Unesco – https://en.unesco.org
- Unicef – www.unicef.org
- United Nations – www.un.org/en
- Video Volunteers – www.videovolunteers.org
See also
- Denotified Tribes, Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes – Report and Recommendations (Technical Advisory Group)
- Fact checking
- Search tips | Names of tribal communities, regions and states of India
- State wise population of Scheduled Tribes (ST) and their percentage to the total population in the respective states and to the total STs population
- “What are the Rights of Scheduled Tribes?– Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)
- “What is the Forest Rights Act about?” – Campaign for Survival and Dignity
- “Who are Scheduled Tribes?” – Government of India (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes, NCST)
Related posts
- Biodiversity Act
- Ecology and environment
- Ethnobotany
- Forest Rights Act (FRA)
- Gandhian social movement
- Health and nutrition
- Indigenous knowledge systems
- M S Swaminathan
- Native science
- Nature and wildlife
- Nehru
- Hyderabad biodiversity pledge
- Revival of traditions
- Rural poverty
- Sacred grove
- Success story
- Tagore and rural culture
- “The tribal food basket has always been diverse and nutritious”
- Tribal culture worldwide
- Vandana Shiva
- Water
- Wildlife tourism