Protecting indigenous wisdom

Kokrajhar is excellent news for Assam, as it ranks among 16 selected tribal hotspots across 13 states and union territories for a project aimed at conserving rich medicinal plant biodiversity. The project titled "Integrated Conservation, Agro-Technology and Bioresource Enterprise Development for Sustainable Tribal Livelihoods in Tribal Hotspots of India" launched by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, in collaboration with the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (CSIR-NBRI), Lucknow, aims to conserve the rich medicinal plants of tribal regions while harnessing traditional knowledge and indigenous bioresources to create sustainable livelihood and enterprise opportunities for tribal communities. Making the People's Biodiversity Register (PBD) in tribal regions comprehensive through extensive documentation of biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge is crucial for the sustainability of this project. The project components include documentation of 200-300 medicinal plant species, scientific propagation of 30-40 rare, endangered and threatened species, establishment of 16 community nurseries and 16 seed banks, and development of community-level capacities for medicinal plant cultivation and bioresource-based enterprises. The project also envisages the distribution of 40,000-50,000 quality planting materials to aid conservation, encourage propagation and promote the sustainable cultivation economically and ecologically important species. Achieving the objective of distributing planting materials hinges on linking enterprises based on the plants so that farmers receive an economic incentive to participate. Ensuring economic returns for project participants is critical for plant survival rates, as it incentivises them to take proper care of the saplings. This is a crucial factor in achieving high survival rates in mass plantation drives, but it is often neglected, with more emphasis placed on the number of saplings rather than their sustained growth and survival. The proposed establishment of strong linkages between scientific institutions, Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKs), State Tribal Welfare and Forest Departments and local communities under the project is a pragmatic decision, but robustness of these institutions will be crucial for smooth coordination among them. The Ministry has also announced that special emphasis will be placed on involving tribal farmers, traditional healers, women and rural youth in conservation, capacity building, cultivation and value-chain development. It is important that medicinal plants indigenous to a particular tribal region are prioritised, as the introduction of non-native medicinal plants runs the risk of unintentionally introducing invasive species and pushing important native medicinal plant species to gradual extinction. Furthermore, a tribal community's traditional knowledge of the medicinal use of a particular plant species is dependent on the traditional practice of medicinal plants found in its area. For a commercial enterprise based on a newly introduced medicinal plant to succeed, adequate scientific guidance and support about medicinal and other uses must be provided, especially if the community lacks traditional knowledge about the plant. As the project is described as "an important step towards recognising tribal communities as custodians of India's biological and traditional knowledge heritage while enabling them to derive sustainable economic benefits from their local bioresources," emphasis should be placed on the exhaustive mapping of indigenous medicinal plants and the documentation of traditional knowledge associated with each plant. As most medicinal plants in tribal regions are found in the wild, the conservation of forest areas is crucial for their preservation. The encroachment of forest areas in the state has posed serious extinction threats to some existing medicinal plant species, while many important medicinal plant species have already been lost due to encroachment and the clearing of forest patches for illegal human settlements. When a particular medicinal plant becomes extinct, the traditional knowledge associated with it also fades out due to a break in traditional practice. The inability of community elders, or those who use such plants for traditional medicine, to pass on their knowledge to the next generations through demonstrations-due to the lack of availability of these plants in the wild-also contributes to the gradual loss of important traditional knowledge. The biodiversity register plays a crucial role in preserving traditional knowledge and facilitating the revival of traditional practices if a particular plant species, previously believed to be lost, is rediscovered by the community or researchers. In community practice, the traditional knowledge is often passed on from one generation to the next orally. Documentation of traditional knowledge in the PBD also serves as a safeguard against biopiracy and the unauthorised commercial exploitation of indigenous medicinal plants outside their traditional areas. Bodos and other indigenous communities in Assam have a rich repository of traditional knowledge on medicinal plants. The proposed project, the documentation and propagation of rare and endangered medicinal plant species, and the propagation of rare and endangered medicinal plant species are laudable initiatives. Building awareness among tribal communities about legal protection against the commercial exploitation of their traditional knowledge outside the geographical areas of origin of a plant species is equally important.