Tapping into indigenous knowledge to protect nature

• August 22, 2022

Source: UNEP

In December, governments from around the world will gather at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15) in Montreal, Canada, to agree on a new set of goals that will guide global actions on nature through 2030. The framework acknowledges the important roles and contributions of indigenous people and local communities as stewards of nature and partners in its conservation, restoration and sustainable use. The world’s indigenous population comprises some 476 million people living across 90 countries and representing 5,000 different cultures. They manage an estimated 25 per cent of Earth’s land mass, which accounts for 40 per cent of all ecologically intact landscapes.

Steps taken to protect ancient and traditional knowledge of indigenous medicinal systems

• March 25, 2022

Source: Press Information Bureau

The Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) is a pioneering initiative of India, under the joint collaboration of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Ministry of Ayush, to prevent exploitation and to protect Indian traditional knowledge at Patent Offices worldwide. The TKDL includes India’s rich traditional knowledge related to the systems of medicine from classical/ traditional books related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa Rigpa as well as practices of Yoga. The information from the ancient texts of medicine and health existing in local languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Persian, Urdu, Tamil, Bhoti, etc. have been digitized in five international languages, namely, English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese in the TKDL database as prior art.

Cabinet approves establishment of WHO global centre for traditional medicine in India

• March 09, 2022

Source: Press Information Bureau

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (WHO GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat by signing a Host Country agreement between the Government of India and the World Health Organization (WHO).The WHO GCTM will be established in Jamnagar under the Ministry of AYUSH.  This would be the first and only global outposted Centre (office) for traditional medicine across the globe. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghbereyesus, Director General, World Health Organization announced the establishment of WHO GCTM in India on the occasion of 5th Ayurveda Day on 13th November, 2020 in the august presence of the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.  The Hon’ble Prime Minister praised this initiative of WHO and mentioned that WHO GCTM would emerge as a centre of global wellness, bolster evidence –based research, training and awareness for Traditional Medicine.

Traditional knowledge of plant foods and medicines

• February 15, 2022

Source: Canadian Science Publishing

In the current reality of lockdowns and isolation, people are turning to plants as a lifeline and way to connect with nature by collecting houseplants and building outdoor gardens. For Indigenous Peoples worldwide, connections with plants are not a recent trend—sacred and cultural connections to plants have existed since time immemorial. “Ethnobotany and ethnopharmacology in the Americas” is a new special issue published in the journal Botany honoring the Traditional Knowledge of plants held by Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. Featuring 16 articles, freely accessible by everyone, this collection of writing and reflection focuses on the relationships among Indigenous Peoples and plants, and anti-oppressive and decolonial approaches to ethnobotanical research.

At a WIPO Programme, the ILO Shares How the Cooperative Model Can be Used by Indigenous Women Entrepreneurs

• November 27, 2021

The second edition of the WIPO Training, Mentoring and Match-Making Program for Indigenous and Local Community Women Entrepreneurs  took place between October 11-22, 2021 with the participation of 22 indigenous women entrepreneurs from around the world.The ILO Enterprises Department Director Vic van Vuuren provided a welcome note for the opening session of the programme on October 11. During his opening remarks he reflected on the ILO’s work on indigenous peoples and women entrepreneurship development including through cooperatives.

Manipur | Annual Fish Fair Held at Imphal

• November 05, 2021

Source: KRC Times

The Annual Fish Fair Cum Fish Crop Competition, 2021, organized by the Department of Fisheries, Government of Manipur was held with the production of around 90,000 KG of different varieties of fish including indigenous varieties at Mapal Kangjeibung today. Chief Minister Mr N. Biren Singh opened the fair, which was organized to coincide with Ningol Chakkouba festival. The 2021 special attraction of the fair was the live display of Sareng (catfish) indigenously grown in Manipur. Around 100 fish farmers took part in the fair which had 100 stalls.

Meghalaya : World’s largest cave fish species found in Jaintia Hills

• February 15, 2020

Source: South Asia Views

The world’s largest cave fish measuring which are blind and pigmented and around one and a half feet in length have been found in a cave in Meghalaya’s  Jaintia Hills. According to an article by four researchers in the November 2019 issue of Cave and Karst Science, a journal published by the British Cave Research Association. The fish, part of the Golden Mahseer but has no eyes and is white due to lack of melanin pigmentation, was found in a cave located in a remote and densely forested area in Jaintia Hills region of Meghalaya by a team of researchers .

World is looking at India in finding ways to combat climate change: Harsh Vardhan

• July 17, 2017

Source: Indian Express

Union environment minister Mr Harsh Vardhan on 17 July 2017 said the world was looking at India in finding ways to combat climate change and global warming as it has traditional knowledge and solutions to protect the nature. Asserting that protecting nature is in the country’s DNA, he said experts feel that India’s traditional knowledge on environment protection can be utilised to deal with the dangers associated with the environment.

On thin ice: the farmers adapting to Peru's melting glacier

• April 15, 2015

Source: The Guardian

Drip by drip the Pastoruri glacier is melting before the eyes of the decreasing number of tourists who visit it. Water runs down the ice wall which, if you listen closely, you can hear creak as it gradually disappears. Local farmers are working to tailor the existing highland wetlands – which act like slow release sponges for glacial meltwater – to combat the deteriorating quality of the water as well as storing it. With technical help from the Mountain Institute and the local Universidad Nacional Santiago Antúnez de Mayolo (UNASAM), the farmers are planting certain species in specific areas and monitoring the results.