Biodiversity

“While collecting tubers, we take only what we need and we will cover the rest with mud again. Usually the main root is not taken because we need it for next year.”– Wildlife conservationist Ramesh in “Bomman thatha and his forest”, a conversation with his grandfather on “bonding between adivasi people and the forest” (At the Edge of Existence, 29 October 2014)
https://indiantribalheritage.org/?p=8262

Sharing valuable rice varieties with farmers: Biodiversity for the sake of “vital nutrients and the ability to withstand flood, drought, salinity or pest infestations” – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Odisha Maharashtra & West Bengal

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IN BRIEF India originally possessed some 110,000 landraces of rice with diverse and valuable properties. These include enrichment in vital nutrients and the ability to withstand flood, drought, salinity or pest infestations. The Green Revolution covered fields with a few high-yielding varieties, so that roughly 90 percent of the landraces vanished from farmers’ collections. High-yielding … Read more

Audio | The Muskoka Summit on the Environment – Canada

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Restoring our relationship with nature from lake beds to treetops Indigenous peoples have all around the world have principles and values that we can learn from, that will help us to understand what our responsibility is here. (9:33) What’s emerging is a consciousness amongst society in general, is the necessity for working for the continuation … Read more

“Gardening their way to Good Health”: Reversing tribal communities’ dependence on exploiters sustenance needs – Tamil Nadu

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Adivasi communities traditionally depended on the forest for all their nutritional needs. They subsisted mainly on fruits, vegetables, tubers, fish, small game as well as the occasional crop they grew, predominantly coarse grains. However, as time passed and the nature of, as well as their access to, forests changed, their diet started becoming deficient. Certain … Read more

Filmmakers’ interest in tribal culture and biodiversity – communication between Mexico and Jharkhand

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A Mexican wave of empathy – Tribal culture strikes a chord with filmmaker couple One may be forgiven for asking “hom what?” But Mexican filmmaker couple Francesco Taboada Tabone and Fernanda Robinson has the answer.  […] The couple, whose films are about indigenous issues in contemporary Mexico and South America, are especially interested in watching … Read more

Doctorate on edible mushroom: Applying traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats – Tamil Nadu

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The traditional knowledge of people belonging to Kaani tribe in the Western Ghats of Kanyakumari district has helped a research student secure her doctorate. The Kaani tribe, who inhabit hills and deep jungles, are a veritable storehouse of traditional wisdom. Their traditional knowledge is passed orally through generations. Mushrooms form a prominent place in their … Read more