Biodiversity Challenges - Role of Indigenous People

What is the issue?

• The UN-backed panel's first global assessment of biodiversity held humans squarely responsible for the looming mass extinction of species.
• In this context, forest dwellers and farmers are the best hope to preserve biodiversity and ensure food security.

What is the emerging threat?

• Nature now faces the threat of another mass extinction of species.
• Pressure from industrialisation does not care too much about conservation and biodiversity.
• The same holds true for the overexploitation of our rivers and seas.
• Without radical efforts towards conservation, the rate of species extinction will only gather momentum.
• A loss in biodiversity simply means that plants and animals are more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
• This, in effect, puts food security and nutrition at risk.

What do tribes hold for the ecosystem?

• The Dongria Kondh tribe of Niyamgiri Hills, Odisha are among the best conservationists in the world.
• They are known for the spirited defence of their forested habitat against short-sighted industrialisation.
• Through millennia, they have evolved a lifestyle that is in perfect harmony with nature.
• Across India, there are many indigenous people who have managed to lead safe lives without any needless destruction of natural ecosystems.
• These tribes, along with marginalised communities living on the fringes of forests and millions of smallholder farmers, have a crucial role now.
• They offer the much-needed solutions to the bio-diversity challenges of the present era.

What should the approach be?

• Although biodiversity loss is a global problem, it can be countered only with local solutions, as there is no one-size-fits-all approach in this.
• India's tropical homeland is rich in biodiversity.
• But, the imperatives of relentless economic growth, urbanisation, deforestation and overpopulation place it at a higher risk.
• Certainly, a solution that has succeeded in a temperate, wealthy nation may not be suitable for a country like India.
• It is now obvious that intensive agriculture, exploitative forestry and overfishing are the main threats to biodiversity in India and the world.
• Given these, the approach now should be to ensure the active participation of communities that live close to nature - farmers and forest dwellers.
• The UN agencies too have emphasized on the significance of the accumulated wisdom of indigenous peoples, fishers and farmers.

What lies ahead?

• The situation with India's forests now is less encouraging.
• Instead of evicting forest dwellers from their homes, the country should be encouraging them to conserve and nurture their habitats.
• For solutions, the policies has to take lead from the -
  1. growing movement of zero-budget natural farming in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
  2. the community-driven forest conservation initiatives in Odisha and the Northeast
• There is no single national-level answer to the problem of crop and biodiversity loss.
• The natural farming movement in Andhra Pradesh may not be suitable for, say, Punjab.
• Fortunately, India’s farmers and tribes are innovative and have local solutions.
• In all, people should be at the centre of all the actions taken at dealing with the challenges of nature.

Source: The Hindu