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 …
Bhawar Singh from Sindhi Colony in Jodhpur had drilled a borewell in the late '80s with the sole intention of selling water. Charging Rs 10 on an average for filling one tractor with water, this is his only source of income today. Since 1980-81, water has turned into a scarce, …
KIKRUMA is a nondescript village in India's remote northeast, inhabited by the Chakhesang tribals. Located at an altitude of 1,270 metres (m), 13 km from Pfutsero town in Phek district of Nagaland, the village comes under the town's rain-shadow. The entire village is situated on a flat ridge bounded by …
• FOREST LAND: A catchment area of about 1.5 ha or more is kept under natural vegetation upstream of the ponds to serve as a water source during monsoons. The slope of the catchment area is usually very steep. • WATER HARVESTING SYSTEM: Below the catchment area, water harvesting ponds …
According to J Kire, former director of the soil conservation department of Nagaland, the entire community participates in building terraces. A report in the Indian Journal of Hill Farming has this to say of the practice: "Area proposed for terracing is cleared by cutting and burning the jungle. The width …
The Chittor fort was a stronghold of the Raiputana state and, Itill the 16th century, capital of the Raiput house of Gehlots. The fort is constructed on the top of a huge oval-shaped hill. around 152 in high. The steep slopes make the fort inaccessible from all sides. Chliftor had …
In what he calls an attempt to convert "default into advantage". Anil Gupta of the Indian Institute of Management,Gujarat, has initiated a project to map the soil microbial diversity in the state. "There is no genetic map of microbial diversity in the world of even a small area," he claims. …
the year 1979 had seen a debilitating drought sweep across India. As rains failed, agricultural production dropped, resulting in enormous human misery. Nestled in the denuded sub-Himalayan Shivalik hills, the poor villagers of Sukhomajri in Haryana were not spared either. They had managed to grow just one monsoon crop a …
In India's flood plains, the people developed ingenious techniques to use the menacing floodwaters, not just to irrigate their fields but also to fertilise them and control diseases like malaria (by making use of fish in the floodwaters to eat away mosquito larvae, for instance). The nation's richest agricultural area …
Our traditional water harvesting structures demonstrate the people's ingenuity at its best. Using unique modes and basic engineering skills, Indians have developed a wide array of techniques for satisfying their thirstIndia has an extraordinary diversity of agro-ecological systems, ranging from the hot desert of Rajasthan to the cold desert of …
The most outstanding example of conjunctive use of water (prevalent in Rajasthan's arid regions) is in the city of Jodhpur, once a fabulously rich desert fort. The Jodhpur fort is situated at the edge of a rocky plateau. The former kings had built a series of canals to collect the …
In Tamil Nadu, which has a profusion of tanks, local irrigation institutions have evolved to develop a common code for maintenance, water-sharing and resolution of conflicts. The organisational structure operates, firstly, at a supervisory level as an enforcing authority, and, secondly, at a more menial level involving hard labour. The …
Pre-colonial roots When the British disembarked on the Indian shores, they saw a land extremely rich, highly urbanised and intensely literate, with a flourishing tradition of arts, crafts and literature. The wealth of the land came from its internal resource mobilisation. The surplus generated in the villages not only supported …
A pivotal role in irrigation management was played by temples. The famous temple of Kalahasti near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, for instance, used the endowments from its devotees to excavate irrigation channels and to reclaim temple lands. A Kalahasti inscription dating back to 1540 states: "Virappanar Ayyar deposited (with the …
close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Relax. Concentrate on a word, an image or just plain void. In other words, meditate. Let the mind take over the body, and various ailments afflicting the duo are tamed. Magic or miracle? Neither, but a realm of spirituality and mysticism
THE issue of protecting the interests of indigenous people against the unauthorised use and piracy of their valuable genetic material and traditional knowledge has become an important one. The Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) regime however, neither recognises such knowledge as being intellectual property nor JOs it contain any provisions to …
To most Indians, turmeric or haldi is a part of growing up, a magic cure-all for the excesses of childhood. A classic "grandmother's remedy", the virulent yellow powder or paste has been applied to the scrapes and cuts of generations of children. But in the US, two scientists were granted …
On her interest in biodiversity: My involvement with biodiversity stems from my concern for the plant and animal species that are being affected by the use of pesticides, and persistent organic compounds in particular. Working with Pesticide Action Network (pan) has made me realise the importance of feeling the pulse …
one of the problems facing the world today is effective and affordable healthcare for its five billion-odd inhabitants. The prohibitive costs that Western or allopathic school of medicine (which often involves serious side effects) engenders is increasingly turning people towards the haven offered by alternative medical systems. The term "alternative" …
