Text by Rashmi Rani Boro
Photo: Udayan Borthakur
When it comes to protecting and safeguarding wildlife, traditional knowledge can be quite important. Indigenous people have an extraordinary understanding of the topography and topology of the area. And such information is extremely important for assisting with research projects and campaigns pertaining to the preservation of wildlife. Also, indigenous people have a knowledge of a specific place that’s discovered by those who adapted to it over thousands of years. This includes knowledge of the relationships between all the living organisms, natural phenomena, and the landscape, giving indigenous people a more holistic view of the ecosystems they live in.
Traditional beliefs always play an important role in protecting wild animals and their habitat. If we look around we can observe how the biodiversity is declining rapidly throughout the world, however the decline is generally lower in the indigenous lands. Traditional ecological knowledge and practices have been successful in promoting sustainable land management and providing environmental data to support the climate adaption strategies.
Indigenous people have a significant role in the governance of biodiversity at all scales, from the local to the global, and they often have a variety of knowledge and information about local biodiversity and environmental change. Indigenous groups have been able to live sustainably because of their proximity to the land, and their customs are a part of human history. The indigenous people are also involved in the conservation programs that aim to protect wildlife and their habitats.
A view of sacred forest in Shergaon, which is kept intact as a remnant of ancient practices for protecting the environment & biodiversity
Photo: Rashmi Rani Boro
Such practices if we see; its not a new thing when it comes to North East India. North-East India is a region of rich biodiversity comprising of eight states: Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, and Sikkim. In addition to having a high bio-cultural diversity, the area sustains a rich biodiversity that ranges from tropical rain forests to alpine shrubs. The religion and culture of the native people of North-East India are closely linked to the forest. In North-East India, community-based conservation has a long history, with the local community taking part in the overall preservation of natural resources. The harsh terrain and massive amounts of rainfall in Northeast India contribute to the region's amazing ecological diversity. In Northeast India, local forest reserves and sacred woods or groves designated by religious doctrine are prime examples of community-based conservation.
To list a few study on how traditional knowledge has led to sustain the habitat or restore the ecosystem. In Dering-Dibru Saikhowa Elephant Corridors’ degraded habitat patches, with the help of the traditional usage knowledge the pioneer species were identified and around 95,582 saplings were planted which will serve as a future reference site for landscape rehabilitation. Out of total saplings planted, 56% of the species were linked to native communities through ethnobotanical uses, as well as providing connectivity and habitat for elephant movement (Haq et al., 2023).
Glimpse of a community conserve forest, control by Bugun tribe in Arunachal Pradesh
Photo: Munmita Boruah
Another well known example where traditional knowledge was used to protect Bugun Liocichla, which is considered to be critically endangered and is found only in Arunachal Pradesh. “The forest patch where it was discovered was under the control of the Bugun tribe of the Singchung village. This forest patch was right outside the Eaglenest Sanctuary. Thus community conservation which includes traditional knowledge is important to protect a particular species and its habitat (Ghosh 2021).
In a nutshell indigenous populations participate in wildlife conservation activities through a variety of channels, such as community-led conservation programme, tribal wildlife management programme, scientific research and traditional knowledge, conservation initiatives, and traditional ecological knowledge. Their participation is important for conserving wildlife and its habitats as well as producing better conservation outcomes.
Reference
1. Haq, S. M., Pieroni, A., Bussmann, R. W., Abd-ElGawad, A. M., & El-Ansary, H. O. (2023). Integrating traditional ecological knowledge into habitat restoration: implications for meeting forest restoration challenges. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 19(1), 33.
2. Ghosh, S. (2021). Two conservation communities from Northeast India win biodiversity awards. Environment and Ecology. Assessed on 24th April.
Article republished from Aaranyak biolink issue 02, volume 03
About the Author :
Rashmi Rani Boro is a researcher working with the Wildlife Genetics Division of Aaranyak
You can reach her at rashmiboro500@gmail.com
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