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

“Indigenous economics is one of the keys to climate action”: UN Equator Prize for Nilgiri tribal collective providing value-added products – Tamil Nadu

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Aadhimalai, winner of UN Equator Prize from Nilgiris, offers a lesson in indigenous economics Traditional healer Janakiamma (60) belongs to the Kurumba community. An indigenous community in south India, Kurumba is listed by the government of India as one of the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups or PVTGs in India. […] As the discourse around the … Read more

Sacred groves: Traditional practice and modern ecology

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Sacred groves are maintained by many tribal communities across India like the Santals and tribal communities in the Nilgiri mountain range of Tamil Nadu, adjoining Wayanad District, and the Kaani community Kanyakumari region on both sides of the border between Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Some of their ancestral forests, sacred streams and mountains are now … Read more

Balancing demands of development and maintaining the integrity of the biodiversity hotspot: The draft notification of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) – Kerala

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The draft notification of Western Ghats Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) covering about 56,825 sq. km has been put in public domain by the Union Environment and Forests Ministry. The notification, dated March 10 [2014], along the lines the Ministry had announced earlier, has left the demarcation of the ESA in Kerala to the State authorities … Read more

“The North East Indian region has never been an isolated backwater” – Food production and animal domestication since the Neolithic Revolution

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“Who lived here?”, “when did they live here?”, “what culture did they have?” and “how did their culture change?” are just some of the questions posed by Prehistory and Archaeology of Northeast India, a book that probes the origins of human settlement, culture and ecology in North East India. Written by archaeologist Manjil Hazarika, it … Read more

Video | Right Livelihood Award speech in support of local communities facing environmental threats: India’s “the first line of defense in the world’s largest democracy” – Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE)

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Awarded 2021 Legal Initiative for Forest and Environment (LIFE) is an organisation working to protect the environment in India through the creative use of law and legal processes. LIFE works with communities through a grassroots approach: it assists and empowers often vulnerable populations to stand up against powerful interests and have a voice in the … Read more