Biodiversity Issues
| NATIONAL BIODIVERSITY STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN |  |
| Team: Ashish Kothari, Sujatha Padmanabhan, Seema Bhatt, Kanchi Kohli Contact: ashishkothari@vsnl.com The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action plan (NBSAP) was started in 2000 as an action plan, which was formulated in a participatory and broad-based manner. Broadly speaking the National Action Plan (NAP) was synthesised from the plans made at local, eco-regional, State and thematic levels. A detailed format for the National Action Plan was formulated after a series of discussions, and work on the national action plan had begun by March 2002. NEW!!
|
|
| CAMPAIGN FOR COMMUNITY CONTROL ON BIODIVERSITY | |
| Team: Kanchi Kohli, Ashish Kothari, Mashqura Fareedi, Shantha Bhushan and Tejaswini Apte Contact: kanchikohli@gmail.com On the occasion of the International Day for Biological Diversity, over 200 village panchayats, along with people’s movements and NGOs from across India, urged the Central Government to fully recognise the role of communities in the management and conservation of biodiversity. This citizen’s campaign demands that Government facilitate greater powers for community control over biodiversity, by making appropriate changes in the Biological Diversity Act and Rules. It also reiterates the commitment of these panchayats and organisations in doing all they can, to conserve biodiversity and protect traditional knowledge relating to biodiversity Read more... Strategy Workshop on Biodiversity Regulation: Control and Conservation 8-9th September 2006 Kolkata While those involved with the Campaign for Community Control over Biodiversity have continued to be involved in their struggles, the collective action took a back seat. At the same time implementation of the Biodiveristy legislation began with the setting up of the National Biodiveristy Authority and State Biodiversity Boards, These institions had also begun screening and clearing applications for research and access to biological resoruces. It was time that the campaign was revised to both understand the extent and range of developments taking place, and at the same time to build strategies for collective action. Other countries in the sub-region share like experiences, with governments in response to international agreements developing regulatory systems on people’s bioresources and their traditional knowledge. Thus a strategy workshop was organised on 8th & 9th September 2006 in Kolkata, India to review the Biodiversity legislation & other associated laws and implications, revive the ongoing campaign for community control over biodiversity and strategise to redirect the focus to local communities. The workshop sought to bring such people and together with the objective of collective brainstorming on ways forward. The workshop is timed with the release of a “Biodiversity Infopack”, which is prepared by Kalpavriksh in collaboration with GRAIN to create awareness about the key biodiversity and IPR related issues, in a set of three publications. See Full Report of the Workshop Understanding the Biological Diversity Act 2002 - a dossier A Simple guide to Intellectual Property Rights, Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge |
|
| MALNAD HOME GARDEN AND SEED EXCHANGE COLLECTIVE | |
| Team: Sunita Rao Contact: sunitarao@sancharnet.in The collective began in a small, modest way in 2001 as part of the Environment Education work in Uttara Kannada. The seed network was one way of looking at the kind of non-formal learning systems that exist and have potential at the community level. This soon acquired a dimension and soul of its own, and is now an independent activity. The focus is to document and develop diverse home gardens that exist in the area, while looking at food security and nutrition issues.
In the last year, several activities took place. One of the seed leaders, Manorama Joshi began several home-based enterprises – dried, semi-wild banana (boodh balay variety), Cocum (Garcinia indica) juice, and organic Holi colours. She is now also trying to market organic copra, turmeric, and ginger (all local varieties). This is aside from her full time work as a home-maker, and seed-keeper. Kalpavriksh only helped with ideas, marketing, and of course the basic philosophy. The initiative otherwise is completely independent. Major marketing happens in Pune. Manorama has also helped with establishing local contacts.
Savithri Hegde, another seed leader in the remote village of Mathighatta, made Cocum candy, herbal hair oil, and opened out her home and orchards for eco-homestays. Several groups have boarded with the family. Savithriamma also has a nursery of local tree saplings, a diverse home garden, and helps run the seed group which has members of the Siddi community.
Aside from seed saving and exchange, there is now an emphasis on tree planting – of both forest and horticultural species. Trainings in grafting, bee-keeping, and water conservation are being planned. Currently there are 8 groups – some more active than the others. Several new ones are in the process of forming. Several local organizations have expressed interest in using this model with the groups they work with. This effort is completely voluntary, collective, small scale and decentralized. It was hoped that a model seed center would come up, but that has now been shelved since most home gardens (backyard patches to large forest tracts) are models unto themselves. If this continues to work in its own small quiet way, it will be a practical example of what KV has been philosophizing about now for the last quarter of a century! |
|
| BIODIVERSITY LEARNING PROGRAMME | |
| Team: Sunita Rao Contact: sunitarao@sancharnet.in In 2002, a “Biodiversity Learning Programme” was begun in Namma Bhoomi, the training campus of the Concerned for Working Children (CWC), near Kundapur, on the West Coast of Karnataka. CWC is an organization that is working on the issue of child labour and children’s rights, and felt that the children must have some kind of environmental learning base to be able to sustain themselves. The programme was an offshoot of the work happening in Uttara Kannada (see above), and followed the same model of experiential, localized learning.
In 2003-2004, work on Namma Bhoomi campus continued. A process document and a campus handbook with activities that the staff can carry out with the children will be ready soon. CWC hopes to use this model for their work in the numerous panchayats, and in their Appropriate Education Programme. This involvement is part of our outreach work.
|
