“Vandana Shiva supports our ECI” | Video | “We need to learn from tribals” >>
The “Save Bees and Farmers!” European Citizens’ Initiative alliance is a growing network of currently over 140 environmental NGOs, farmer and beekeeper organisations, charitable foundations and scientific institutions distributed throughout the European Union, working together to reconcile agriculture, health and biodiversity.
Source: The “Save Bees and Farmers!” European Citizens’ Initiative
URL: https://www.savebeesandfarmers.eu/eng/about-us/
Date visited: 4 August 2020
The role of bees in any economy is well understood, and the disappearance of indigenous bee populations is alarming to scientists all over the world:
Bees are some of nature’s most fascinating creatures, they are also incredibly important. Their intimate dependency relationship with plants makes bees a crucial component of successful ecosystems the world over. As primary producers, plants are fundamental to life. Plants provide the basis of the food chain for all creatures as well as providing shelter, protection and nesting sites. People utilise plant based natural resources for food, fuel, shelter, useful materials and commercial gain. Plants maintain watersheds, prevent soil erosion and are a factor in climatic stability. Pollination is therefore essential for agriculture and environmental management and a variety of pollinators are required to maintain reproduction across a broad spectrum of flowering plant species. In their turn the pollinators require protection of the plants on which their life depends and the habitats within which these plants grow. The greatest threat to pollinators is unrestrained habitat destruction, degradation or pollution.
Source: Bees for Development Trust (UK): “Conservation & environment”
URL: http://www.beesfordevelopment.org/categories/conservation-environment/
Date visited: 4 August 2020
[Bold typeface added above for emphasis]
The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Forest Rights Act) gives members of tribal communities the right “to collect, use, and dispose of minor forest produce including bamboo, brush wood, stumps, cane, tussar, cocoons, honey, wax, lac, tendu or kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tubers.” – Azim Premji University Team
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 fellow 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!
More about the work of his foundation which “aims to accelerate use of modern science and technology for agricultural and rural development to improve lives and livelihoods of communities.” – www.mssrf.org | Regarding the issues of food security raised above, and the nutritional value of indigenous grains, seeds and millets, read an in-depth report that concludes that “the tribal food basket has always been diverse and nutritious” >>
Up-to-date reports by Indian experts and journalists
List of sites covered by this Google SafeSearch engine
Academia.edu (platform for academics to share research papers) – www.academia.edu
Archive.org – https://archive.org
Centre for Science and Environment – https://www.cseindia.org
Current Conservation – https://www.currentconservation.org
Development and Cooperation (D+C) https://www.dandc.eu
Down To Earth (India) – www.downtoearth.org.in
India Environment Portal – www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in
Harnessing Nature Magazine – https://harnessingnature.online
Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group – https://kalpavriksh.org
Mongabay-India – https://india.mongabay.com
M S Swaminathan Research Foundation – www.mssrf.org
Navdanya (protecting India’s biodiversity based food heritage) – https://navdanya.org
People’s Archive of Rural India – https://ruralindiaonline.org/
Third World Network (Penang, Malaysia) – https://twn.my
The Shola Trust (nature conservation in the Nilgiri region) – www.thesholatrust.org
TribalConnect (“uplift and benefit the community without adversely affecting or changing their vernacular”) – https://tribalconnect.org.in
WorldCat (“the world’s largest library catalog, helping you find library materials online”) – https://worldcat.org
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What does it mean to be Indigenous?
Indigenous Peoples can be identified according to certain characteristics:
They are politically and socially marginalized.
Most importantly, they self-identify as Indigenous Peoples.
They share an ancestral link with those who inhabited a country or region before they were colonized or before other peoples became dominant.
They have a strong link to particular territories and the surrounding natural resources.
They have distinct social, economic or political systems, which they are resolved to maintain and reproduce.
They have a distinct language, culture and beliefs.
There are more than 5,000 different Indigenous Peoples around the world comprising 476 million people – around 6.2% of the global population. They are spread across more than 90 countries in every region and speak more than 4,000 languages. | Learn more (Amnesty International) >>
Source: “INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ RIGHTS” by Amnesty International
URL: https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/
Date Visited: 10 May 2025
Learn more on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, their Languages & linguistic heritage & Tribal culture worldwide >>