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 …
the European Union's authority for applying precautionary principle in environmental and health decision-making has been recently reinforced by two rulings of the European Court of Justice. Both cases arose from a 1999 regulation banning use of four antibiotics in animal feed. Two pharmaceutical firms had challenged the regulation arguing that …
A woman in her mid-twenties, probably of European descent, is trying to explain something to a group of Bhil tribals in village Tejgadh, Chhota Udaipur block, about 90 kilometres east of Vadodara city, Gujarat. Huddled, in a makeshift building on a 10-acre plot, all those present pour over a couple …
Part I: Untapped data Four consecutive years of drought have brought home a lesson that the people of Hamirpur district and its neighbouring districts in Himachal Pradesh have learnt well. These areas had started receiving piped water supply from the government and gave up on their traditional water harvesting structures. …
RIO, JOHANNESBURG AND BEYOND . LEADINDIA . Published by Orient Longman Private Ltd . New Delhi . 2002 . 320 pages India's achievements, failures and opportunities in sustainable development: this is what the twelve chapters of this book deal with. You may agree or disagree with the various assessments and …
The Bandi river in Rajasthan is dying. Flowing through various villages of Rohet tehsil in Pali district, its water has a reddish hue like red rum. It can no longer be used for irrigation or drinking. "Even animals do not drink this water,' says Gangadhan Charan, a resident of Gadhawara …
The lac dye is bright red. It is derived from insects like cochineal, kermes and lac, also called Kerria lacca. It takes about three lakh insects to yield one kilogramme of dye. These scale insects thrive on a variety of trees and bushes such as kusum (Schleichera oleosa), palash (Butea …
We know the potential, we know the opportunity. We have the necessary diversity and the knowhow. But still, not many plants are in use for extraction of dyes in India. Of 40 species of indigo found in India, only 16 yield the dye and only four are commercially grown in …
Five years ago, Ama Herbal, a Lucknow-based company, quick to see potential in the natural dye industry, started to manufacture natural dyes. “The response was tremendous. Everyone asked us for samples within 15 days of writing to them,” says Y A Shah, the company’s managing director. “But later, everything backfired. …
The God Aihn rules over Amunawdr, the realm of the dead. He is a dairyman and created the Todas and their buffaloes. To qualify for entry into the afterworld, the Todas of the Nilgiris must follow all prescribed ceremonies. This belief is the pivot of Toda culture. An ancient tribal …
It doesn't make for easy reading but you might as well do so. Here's an abstract from patent number 6,410,059 in the us Patent and Trademark Office (uspto), granted on June 25, 2002, which featured widely as a
the term patent is not usually well received in India. It immediately brings to mind images of biopiracy, of large transnational entities making profits out of knowledge and natural resources protected and conserved by the poor. Communities have nurtured knowledge and health systems over millennia, a prime example being ayurveda. …
She put the rights of the tribe she was studying above her research. In 1997, ethnobotanist Kelly Bannister found that Skeetchestn, a tribe near British Columbia in Western Canada, wanted some more of her time to record their traditional knowledge. This was reason enough for her to reject the offer …
Bamboo flowering is considered a bad omen in several northeastern states of India, especially when accompanied by an increase in rodent population. It is believed to lead to famines and natural calamities. The next bamboo flowering is expected around year 2003-04. Should we prepare ourselves? On October 29, 1958 the …
Procuring food still takes away much of the income. > Indian villagers spend 59.4 per cent of their total expenditure on food. Urban India spends 48.1 per cent Basic necessities become luxuries. > Only one in ten people in rural India have access to sanitation. > Half of rural India …
The documentary on the Onges tribe of the Little Andaman Island had an advantage that the panel discussion lacked. Sonali Dutta, the director, was showing rare footage. The panel discussion for most parts, on the other hand, was leaded with theoretical meanderings along known paths. Sonali's documentary gave the audience …
