The National Biodiversity Authority has released a new set of rules to manage sharing of benefits generated through the use of biological resources. The Biological Diversity (Access to biological Resources and Knowledge Associated thereto and Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits) Regulation 2025 was approved by the Central government and …
In light of the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol, it is important for countries that have or are in the process of putting in place national ABS measures to share their experiences in implementation. Drawing upon practical experience with ABS will greatly assist in highlighting where regulatory gaps exist, what …
For centuries, traditional agricultural systems have contributed to food and livelihood security throughout the world. Recognizing the ecological legacy in the traditional agricultural systems may help us develop novel sustainable agriculture. We examine how rice–fish coculture (RF), which has been designated a “globally important agricultural heritage system,” has been maintained …
This document contains the presentation by Vivek Prasad, George Mason University, USA and Rajeev Ranjan, Lohardaga Gram Swarajya Sansthan, Jharkhand, on “The value of natural resource management in adaptation and building resilience to climate change ” during Second National Research Conference on Climate Change, organized by the Centre for Science …
Over the recent past, Geographical Indications (GIs) have emerged as a significant form of intellectual property rights in the Indian context. In view of the commercial potential of handicrafts, adequate legal measures of GIs becomes necessary to prevent their unauthorized utilization. Original Source
Now that “neemania” has gripped scientists in the West and neem (Azadirachta indica) is being hailed as the wonder tree that can solve global problems from locust swarms to AIDS, Indian scientists are jumping onto the bandwagon. After Western scientists proved that neem-based pesticides are safer than synthetic ones such …
STORIES are at the heart of any tribal community. Most of our history is passed down by word of mouth in the form of fables, myths, legends, rituals or folktales. It is at the threshold of being lost forever. This website details the work of an organisation that attempts to …
It was Mahatma Gandhi's dream to see an India free from hunger. Today, India is going to operate the largest social protection programme against hunger in human history. Right to food through the National Food Security Bill has been recently introduced in Parliament.
This national action plan was developed through a series of multi-stakeholder consultative workshops with representations from national, regional and international biodiversity organizations. The goals, objectives and actions outlined in this action plan are based on the threats (observed and predicted) and gaps identified by various working groups, stakeholder meetings and …
The tribal and ecological history of India has been the history of forced transformation of the natural commons into private property engineered under both the colonial and post colonial state policy. In the following period of structural adjustment programme during and after the 1990s the state has opened the public …
Located in the western Pacific ocean, Pohnpei Island is the largest island of the state of Pohnpei, one of the four states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Although rich in biodiversity, in recent years there has been a steady decline in the use of traditional agriculture …
With less than one percent of the world’s area, Nepal is home to a disproportionately large number of plant species. Yet large numbers of the population are food insecure, and hunger and malnutrition are prevalent. Statistics show that the situation has worsened during the past two decades. The worst-affected segments …
The Yorkshire village of Todmorden has taken local food to heart – and to the street. The planting of food crops at forty public locations throughout the village offer locals, and visitors, the chance to pick their own fresh fruit and vegetables, and it’s all free. From the local police …
The combined effects of climate change, energy scarcity, and water paucity require that we radically rethink our agricultural systems. Countries can and must reorient their agricultural systems toward modes of production that are not only highly productive, but also highly sustainable. Following the 2008 global food price crisis, many developing …
When representatives of the world’s largest seed company, Monsanto, began to make discreet visits to the second floor offices of the inconspicuous Van Bandhu Kalyaan Yojana in the Gandhinagar headquarters of the Gujarat government in 2007, it set in motion a process that would transform Indian agriculture in unexpected and …
IT WAS not until mid-1900s that scientists woke up to the importance of prebiotics—a non-digestible food ingredients that helps nurture bacteria in human gut. Consequently, nutritionists started recommending foods like whole grains and pulses more often. Now a study suggests that the secrets of nutrition related to prebiotics were well …
Jason Clay identifies eight steps that, taken together, could enable farming to feed 10 billion people and keep Earth habitable. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v475/n7356/full/475287a.html
About two years ago, a fire broke out in the Biligiri Rangaswami Temple Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka. The police arrested 35 community leaders of Soliga tribe for causing the fire. Five people still have cases against them. Yet the forest community recently submitted a bold proposal to the Centre advocating …
In most Afghan households, winter is heralded by the strong aroma of fried mint leaves that lingers till late in the night. The smell is a sure give away of what a family has had for dinner—Aashak, a speciality dish of Kabul comprising dumplings and noodles. The dumplings stuffed with …
Gut microflora co-evolved with the human evolution, performing health-promoting functions and protection from the enteric pathogens. The long association of the microflora sustained through ages, which in the light of new research, needs specific nutrients that are not required by the humans. The present article revisits the ancient foods and …
The present study comprises of field trips in different rural localities of Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram districts of Kerala. Information regarding the occurrence of plant species, their local names, parts ued, formulations and vegetable preparations through interviews and discussions held with elderly persons of rural communities were recorded. The plant specimens …
