The Role of Ethnic and Indigenous People of India and their Culture in the Conservation of Biodiversity

0186-A1

Rajiv Rai^[1] and Vijendra Nath

ABSTRACT

This paper describes the significant role of ethnic people who have conserved the biodiversity in and around localities of their natural habitat since the beginnings of civilization. Plants are conserved by these ethnic and indigenous people that serve as a source of wild edible food in the form of roots, tubers, rhizomes, seeds, fruits and as agricultural and horticultural plants. Some of the indigenous cultivars conserved by these ethnic people are used in agricultural cultivars improvement programmes to increase productivity and incorporate traits for increasing resistance against different pests and diseases. Many of the plants conserved by ethnic people are used as antidotes for snake bites and scorpion stings, for setting bone fractures by traditional healers, for curing wounds or arthritis, or as abortifacients and as cures for menstrual problems, etc. Plants are conserved in abandoned sites of shifting agriculture by tribals and also in sacred groves as in situ conservation of biodiversity and ecological restoration.

INTRODUCTION

The indigenous and ethnic people of the world have learnt to live in most hostile environmental condition in this universe. The most interesting feature associated with these indigenous and ethnic has been found that, they live in localities which are immensely rich in biodiversity. It is estimated that about 300 million indigenous people are living in world, out of which nearly half i.e. 150 million are living in Asia, about 30 million of which are living in Central and South America and a significant number of them are living in Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Africa, and Soviet Union. A list of some of these prominent ethnic and indigenous people is presented in table -1. These ethnic and indigenous people have played a vital role in conservation of environmental management and development process as they posse’s traditional knowledge which has been useful in Eco-restoration. It has been noticed that these people know how to live with harmony in nature.

In India, 68 million people belonging to 227 ethnic group and comprising of 573 tribal communities derived from six racial stocks namely - Negroid, Proto- Australoid, Mongoloid, Mediterranean, West Breachy and Nordic exists in different part of the country (Pushpgandhan ¹). These ethnic people mostly the indigenous tribals live close in the vicinity of forests and have managed and conserved the biodiversity of their localities since long time. These tribals take shelter from forest and utilize wild edible plants both raw and cooked. The flower and fruits are generally eaten raw where as tubers, leaves and seeds are cooked. Tribals utilize forest produce, forest timber and fuelwood. These tribals are living in forest since ages and have developed a kind of affinity with forests.

India is a country with large ethnic society and has immense wealth due to which it is rich in biodiversity. There are 45,000 species of wild plant out of which 9,500 species are ethnobotanically important species. Of these 7,500 species are in medicinal use for indigenous health practices. About 3,900 plant species are used by tribals as food (out of which 145 species comprise of root and tubers, 521 species of leafy vegetables, 101 species of bulbs and flowers, 647 species of fruits), 525 species are used for fiber, 400 species are used as fodder, 300 species are used in preparation and extraction of chemicals which are used as naturally occurring insecticides and pesticides, 300 species are used for extraction of gum, resins, dyes and perfume (Arora, ²). In addition to these a number of plants are used as timber, building material and about 700 species are culturally important from moral, cultural, religious, aesthetic and social point of view of. Indian sub-contient is one of the twelve mega-centres of biodiversity representing two of the eighteen hotspots of biological diversity one occurring in Western Ghat and another in North- Eastern Himalaya (Zeven and Zhikovsky ³). Floristically 141 endemic genera belonging to over 47 families of higher plant occur in India In India 11.95% of the world’s biodiversity has been conserved by ethnic people in many ways(Arora,⁴⁾. Botanical survey of India has reported 46,214 plant species are found in India of global flora of these 17,500 represents flowering plants. Thirty seven of these are endemic and found in North -East of India (Arora, ⁴⁾.

OBSERVATION AND DISCUSSION

Following observations have been recorded for the role of ethnic and indigenous people in conservation of biodiversity.

1 PLANTS ARE CONSERVED IN NATURAL HABITAT AND IS BEING WORSHIPPED BY TRIBALS AS HOME OF GOD AND GODDESS.

Many plants are conserved in their natural habitat by tribals due to magico - religious belief that they are habitat of god and goddess.The tribal culture prevalent in tribal pockets in Central India has been recorded in Dindori, Balaghat and Mandala districts of Madhya Pradesh and Kawardha and Bilaspur districts of Chhatisgarh states.The survey study reveals that plants and flowers have a profound influence on them. Tribals worship trees and flowers as they believe that God and Godesses reside in them. A list of such plants is presented in table -2

Table 2: LIST OF PLANTS WORSHIPED AND CONSERVED BY TRIBALS ON ACCOUNT OF MAGICO - RELIGIOUS BELIEF.

2. CROP PLANTS CONSERVED BY TRIBALS AS SOURCE OF FOOD.

The ethnic and indigenous people have conserved several plants and endangered cultivars of agricultural crops such as rice, maize, millets, grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables which have originated under diverse agro-ecological climates in north -east, central and peninsular region of India, the indigenous communities have their abode, e.g. some of these indigenous cultivars of rice such as Pattambi, Champara, Valsana are conserved by Kurichya, Pariyar, Khasi, Jatin and Garo tribes in North East region - Manipur, Meghalya, Assam and 150 wild cultivars of rice which are conserved by Santhal, Munda, Birhor and Gond tribes of Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand and Bihar. These cultivars are genetically superior than existing cultivated rice varieties in characters like aroma, grain quality, protein content, digestibility and also found resistance to insects, pests and diseases. These varieties are now multiplied by rice breeders and incorporated in All India Co -ordinated Rice improvement programme at Central Rice Research Institute Cuttack and at International Rice Research Institute Phillipines, Manila (Arora ⁵).

3. DIVERSITY OF PLANTS CONSERVED BY TRIBALS AS WILD FRUITS, SEEDS, BULB, ROOTS AND TUBERS FOR EDIBLE PURPOSE -

The ethnic and indigenous people have to depend upon several wild species for fruits, seeds, bulbs, roots and tubers which are used for edible purposes. The same is presented in table -3

Table 3 PLANTS CONSERVED BY TRIBALS FOR EDIBLE PUROSE

Tribals follow environmental conservation rule in harvesting edible plants which establishes ecological prudence.Tubers of edible plants like those of Dioscorea spp. are harvested by tribals when the leaves of the vine turns yellow and has physiologically matured. The wild tubers are dig carefully avoiding damage to associated species.

4 PLANTS ARE CONSERVED IN NATURAL HABITAT IN FOREST USED AS ANTIDOTE OF SNAKE BITE AND SCORPION- STING BY TRIBAL HERBAL HEALERS

Many plant species are of great economic importance to tribals as rhizomes of such plants like Acorus calamus, stem bark of Bunchania lanzan, stem and leaves of Moringa oleifera, Achyrnthus aspera, Gynandropsis gynandra, Bombax ceiba are being used as antidote of snake - bite and scorpion sting. Paste is prepared from rhizome and applied on wounds. These plants are conserved for above purpose by tribals

5. PLANTS ARE CONSERVED IN NATURAL HABITAT AND USED FOR SETTINGBONE FRACTURE AND IN ORTHOPEDIC TREAT-MENT OF TRIBAL HERBAL HEALERS.

The root, stem and leaves of some plants are powdered and paste is prepared and applied by tribals on broken bone portions. The paste prepared from of stem and leaves of plants like Vanda tessala, Alternanthera sessiles and of roots of Cassia adnata, Sida cordata,Bauhina purpurea etc. are tied for healing of wound for 10 - 15 days on broken bones. These plants are conserved by tribal herbal healers in natural forests for orthopedic treatments.

6. PLANTS CONSERVED BY TRIBALS IN NATURAL HABITAT AND UTILISED AS MEDICINAL HERBS

Primitive and indigenous people have been using several plants for combating disease from centuries and are found wide acceptance in traditional medicinal use. Plants like Equisetum ramosissimum, Argemone maxicana are dried, powdered and paste is applied on infested portion of skin and on wounds. Plants like Bauhinia purpurea, Sida acuta, Jatropha curcus, Grewia hirsutum, Albizzia lebbeck, Capparis deciduas are conserved as used in muscular pain, cure of fever, headcache, and body swelling.

Decoction prepared from roots of Curculigo orchiodes, Bombax ceiba, to cure white discharge in urine of tribal women are also conserved by primitive tribes.

7. PLANTS ARE CONSERVED IN ABONDENED SITES OF SHIFTING AGRICULTURE BY TRIBALS

The shifting agriculture jhoom practice of cultivation of crops are practiced by ethnic societies in North -East region of India in states of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram etc.in Central India in states of U.P., Maharashtra, Orissa and Chharisgarh and in South India in states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. In this practice a forest is cleared by felling of trees and plant bio-mass is burnt and the ashes collected which are source of essential plant nutrients are spread in the fields. After an year of cultivation, the land is abondened for several years for regeneration of fertility of soil. During this period the farmers are moved for cultivation in other land. The tribals do not perform complete felling of forest but they retain several useful species of horticultutral and agricultural importance such as Mangifera indica (Mango), Citrus spps. (Orange), Musa spps. (Banana), Phyllanthus embilica (Goose berry), Zea mays (Maize), Saccharum spps. (Sugarcane). Several useful plants like Ardisia polycephala, Ardisia cripsa, Casearia glomerata, Meliosma ipñata, Rhus spps, Phoenisx spp. etc. are colonized at abondened sites.

8. PLANTS ARE CONSERVED IN SACRED GROVES OF TRIBALS AS IN - SITU CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY.

The ethnic people of India have played a vital role in preserving bio-diversity of several virgin forests and have conserved several flora and fauna in sacred groves of tribals, otherwise these flora and fauna might have been disappeared from natural eco -system. The sacred groves are the natural forests which are located in North - East, Central and Peninsular India. The interference of all kind of human activities are prohibited in sacred groves. In sacred grove of Maharashtra in Western ghat, the giant tree Mangifera indica (Mango) which is covered by the twiner of Tinospora sinensis having hanging stem and looks like trunk of elephant. Due to magico - religious belief the tribals worship mango tree and have conserved these trees in natural eco -system. In western ghat one can find the Curcuma domestica the wild herbaceous species growing as carpet along with piper in some rare sights(Vartak,.⁶) Some of the plants growing in sacred groves in India are described by Jain ⁷ are presented in table - 4.

Nutritional evaluation of about 200 wild species of edible purpose has also been carried out in different nutritional laboraties of CSIR, New Delhi. These plants have been collected from tribal areas (Arora ⁵). Due to high nutritional value of the most of the plant, it was observed that the tribals who still live in undisturbed forest areas and practice traditional food habits (consumption of wild cultivars and food varieties in forest from different season) are found to be more healthy and free from diseases

Table 4 - PLANTS GROWING IN SACRED GROVES IN INDIA

Source: Jain,S.K.⁷ Ethnobiology in Human welfare

SURVEY COLLECTION AND CONSERVATION

There is a urgent need to explore valuable germplasm through periodical survey and evaluate the floral diversity which has been conserved in the local eco -system. The ecological imbalances caused in several years needs to be restored by conserving biological diversity by adopting in-situ conservation of genetic resources within their eco-system and ex-situ conservation of genetic material can be made in seed bank, botanical garden herbal garden, arborateum and conservation of ex-plants or organs in in-vitro as cryo-bank, genomic DNA, DNA library and DNA bank.

The conservation has to be looked in terms of gene bank from where potential gene flow is possible for ecological restoration and sustainable management of biological diversity. The emphasis is to be given for in-situ and ex-situ conservation, because in the ethnic and indigenous society their culture is vanishing and depleting very fast as these people have been in influence of modern culture due to rapid industrialization and urbansitation. Ethnobiologist thus has to salvage the valuable legacies before tribals culturedisappear and gives birth to another culture.

CONCLUSION

India in the present scenario is rich in biodiversity.The indigenous people have helped in conservation of bio-diversity. However, efforts for conservation have to be made in both vertical as well as hortizontal direction due to rapid industrial revolution. Conservation of diversity, sustainable manaement, propogation of such valued flora and their in-situ as well as ex-situ conservation are the need of this century. Therefore various disciplines like Genetics, Pollen biology, Tree Breeding, Ecology, Botany, Physiology, Eco - restoration, Taxonomy, Ethno -botany, Taxonomy, Phyto chemistry, Biometrics, Bio-stat should work at one platform and linkages have to be established. In sacred forests as well as in localities dominated by ethnic people needs to be surved for identification of plants associated with various ethno-botanical uses followed by phytochemical studies. Awarenes campaigns and training programmes are to be organized in tribal localities for eco -restoration and conserving floras. The same has been shown in Fig.1.

Fig. 1: Eco-logical restoration and conservation of bio-diversity.

Table 1 - Ethnic and indigenous people of the World

Source: Anon ⁸ (“Atlas of Environment ” (1992), WWF, Oxford Publication, Oxford, London)

Fig. 1: Ecological restoration and conservation of biodiversity.

REFERENCE:

1. Push pagandhan P. (1994) Ethnobiology in India. A status report, Ministry of Enviroment and Forest, GOI,New Delhi.

2. Arora R.K. (1991) Conservation and Management concept and Approach in Plant Genetic resources.(eds.) Paroda R.S.& R.K.Arora, IBPGR, Regional office South and Southeast Asia, New Delhi, p25.

3. ZevenA.C.and Zhukovsky, P.M. (1973)Dictionary of cultivated plants and their centers of diversity. PUDOC, Wageningen, p-29.

4. Anon. (1998) Status report on biodiversity. Ministry of Enviroment and Forest. GOI, New Delhi

5. Arora R.K. (1997) Ethnobotany and its role in Conservation and Use of Plant genetic resources in India. Journal of ethnobotany

6. Vartak KVD (1996) Sacred groved of tribals for in-situ conservation of biodiversity. In S.K.Jain (eds.) Ethnobiology in Human Welfare, p -300-302.

7. Jain S.K. (1996) Ethnobiology in Human Welfare, Deep Publications New Delhi.P-519 -520.

8. Anon. (1991) Atlas of Enviroment. WWP. Oxford Publication. Oxford, London.