Indeginious communities have inhabited their native places in harmony with nature for ages as the planet’s guardians. They are responsible for looking after some of the planet’s most priceless resources, including many of its biodiversity hotspots. They have perfected the technique of surviving on the Earth without causing it harm. They understand that preserving a mutually beneficial relationship with the environment is essential to ensuring human wellness. We conservationists truly have a lot to learn from them.
Unfortunately, among the most vulnerable groups are the 370 million indigenous people living worldwide. They have been under severe threat from development-related relocation, massive dam construction, chemical farming, and the irrational desire of corporate goliaths to exploit natural resources.
Conservation Needs Indeginious Communities
Designing and implementing solutions for ecosystems requires the input of indigenous peoples. Environmental evaluations and the management of sustainably regenerating ecosystems can benefit from traditional knowledge and heritage. For instance, the sustainable production and use of native and traditional foods offer significant advantages for ecosystems and natural resources, as well as for a sustainable and better diet and the fight against climate change.
The term “traditional” describes knowledge derived through centuries of observation and interaction with nature when the property is traditionally owned, maintained, or utilized. This understanding is frequently part of a cosmology that honours the interconnectedness of all life, regards the natural world as sacred, and sees humankind as an integral part of it. Additionally, it covers realistic strategies to maintain the ecosystem in which they live so it can continue to offer services like clean water, rich soil, food, shelter, and medications.
Indeginious Communities suffer the most from Environmental Damage
Most indigenous peoples suffer disproportionately from loss of biological diversity and environmental degradation because of their subsistence economies and spiritual ties to lands and territories. They face threats to their lives, survival, possibilities for development, knowledge, environment, and health due to environmental degradation, extensive industrial activity, toxic waste, conflicts, and forced migration, as well as changes in land use and land cover (such as deforestation for agriculture and extractives for example)
What is the role of climate change?
.Climate change makes these difficulties much worse. Some mitigation techniques, like biofuel projects, can make the threat to the territories and coping mechanisms of indigenous peoples worse rather than better. While biofuel initiatives are meant to lower greenhouse gas emissions, they may impact the ecosystems, water supply, and landscape important to indigenous peoples. This could eventually result in an increase in monoculture crops and plantations, which would decrease biodiversity and threaten food and water security.
Currently, a few staple crops are relied upon substantially by the entire world.
50% of daily calories are wheat, rice, potatoes, and maize. The local food systems of indigenous peoples can assist the rest of humanity to expand its limited food supply with nutrient-rich native crops like quinoa, oca, and moringa. Many indigenous peoples have chosen crops that have also had to adapt since they live in harsh regions. Native plant species are commonly grown by indigenous peoples because they are more suited to the local environment and often withstand drought, altitude, flooding, and other harsh circumstances better.
If grown more extensively, these crops could increase the farms’ resilience as they deal with a more intense and changing climate. Nutrition and food security depend on biodiversity preservation. Forests, rivers, lakes, and grasslands are the genetic breeding grounds for various plant and animal species. Native Americans protect these areas by leading environmentally healthy lives that contribute to the natural world’s biodiversity of plants and animals.
Additionally, they frequently have a greater comprehension of regional ecosystems and their dynamics, which might aid in formulating more well-informed management choices. Because they are closer to the ground and can react to changes or threats more rapidly than government policies or institutions (like officially protected areas), community-based organizations are frequently more successful.
Successful Conservation a hallmark of Indeginious Communities
Due to Indigenous peoples’ or local communities’ conservation traditions, many locations worldwide, including Pangasinan in the Philippines, have maintained their ecological integrity. These areas comprise an estimated 21% of all land on Earth, although academics have not extensively studied them. This means that, compared to, say, national parks and forests, indigenous peoples and small communities conserve much more of the planet. Only 14% of the Earth’s territory is covered by protected and conservation zones under the control of nations, some of which overlap with Indigenous territories. Local involvement has also saved hornbills in North East India. Bird hunting was prevalent prior to community based conservation due to various cultural and sustenance reasons.
Conclusion
In matters crucial to indigenous peoples’ rights, survival, dignity, and well-being, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples stipulate that their free, prior, and informed consent must be acquired. Additionally, conversations to gain this permission must be conducted under local governance and decision-making institutions, in indigenous languages, on indigenous peoples’ schedules, and without coercion or threats. Indigenous peoples can express their concerns and push for policy change within the UN by using the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People.
Traditional ecological understanding is, in essence, harmony in diversity. It can help us learn more about how to live sustainably on Earth. Respecting the ancient knowledge, wisdom, and cultural values of indigenous peoples could open up incredible possibilities to learn from people who still live in harmony with nature. This will significantly increase the depth of our current scientific understanding. Therefore, we can stop the loss of biodiversity and safeguard our world’s future if we respect indigenous people’s rights to their land, forest, and water. It is past time to give indigenous people a voice, to include their opinions in scientific evaluations, and to foster collaboration between scientists, the government, and indigenous communities.
Written by: Krishang Sikaria
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