Having a feel for varied characteristic features of biodiversity is an important first step to undertake effective steps towards conserving this important resource. Unfortunately, it is rapidly getting depleted due to ill-conceived human actions, and what is needed is a view towards and for its effective utilization for addressing a whole range of contemporary concerns of a wide range of stakeholders, as in the Indian situation:
For the highly marginalized sections of the societies those living biodiversity-rich situation, and therefore closely connected with 'Nature' and natural resources around (henceforth referred to as 'traditional societies'), who constitute about 20 per cent of the Indian population. The basic livelihood needs have come under threat because of biodiversity depletion, a resource which is the driving force for sustaining their traditional agricultural systems; the key drivers for this depletion of biodiversity and linked-land degradation being external forces such as market pressures and policy formulation, both national and international (Ramakrishnan, 1992a; Indian National Science Academy et al., 2001).
For the rural poor living in a largely degraded rural plains of setup of the larger plains of India (about 50 per cent of the Indian population), working under situations of depleted biodiversity. With only limited or no access to energy subsidies in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, productivity has steadily been on the decline, because of land degradation in a landscape which is devoid of tree cover that could sustain the productivity from the land.
Arising from excessive dependence on fertilizers, pesticides and the ground water resource, as in the rural plains of Haryana and Punjab region in India, over a period of time land degradation has set in leading to declining productivity from the land. With no tree cover and associated biodiversity being available for organic residue management that could act as a buffer, productivity from the land has been on the decline in recent times. No wonder, therefore, attempts are now being made to increase biodiversity linked heterogeneity in the landscape through a renewed emphasis on agroforestry systems development (Singh et al., 1994).
There is an increasing realization today than ever before, even amongst the most urbanized societies like those of USA, to have access to green cover in the urban landscape and thus to get back to 'Nature' (Shutkin, 2000), arising from the increasing realization that biodiversity has a key role to play for human well being whether it be for sustainable global food security of the increasing human population, or addressing effectively human health-linked concerns that are ethno-biological, and even to conserve intangible values linked with biodiversity in all its scalar dimensions (sub-specific, species, ecosystem and landscape levels). All these value dimensions, tangible and intangible, therefore, are of relevance to a whole spectrum of human societies, ranging from those who still remain closely connected with biodiversity around them (traditional societies) on one extreme, and the most modern urbanized human societies on the other extreme who are delinked from biodiversity on the other extreme, and many others who fall in-between these two.
Hindu (933)
Agriculture (120)
Ancient (1085)
Archaeology (755)
Architecture (563)
Art & Culture (911)
Biography (708)
Buddhist (544)
Cookery (167)
Emperor & Queen (564)
Islam (242)
Jainism (308)
Literary (896)
Mahatma Gandhi (373)
Send as free online greeting card
Email a Friend
Manage Wishlist