Dr. Arvind Kumar*
Now more than ever, the topic of climate change has been receiving global attention and is at the forefront of many conversations. In addition to altering environments, it also has a social impact. Extreme weather events have been happening more than ever in recorded history, disrupting both ecosystems and livelihoods for people across the globe. However, marginalized communities, including Indigenous groups, are often the people most affected by devastating storms, flooding, or fires. Recent environmental changes brought on by climate change uniquely impact Indigenous people, especially because of their relationships with the land, ocean, and natural resources. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs articulately states, “Climate change poses threats and dangers to the survival of Indigenous communities worldwide, even though Indigenous peoples contribute the least to greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Indigenous people are on the front line of climate change.” When community worldviews are deeply tied to the environment, what happens when that environment starts to change rapidly? Or when ancestral homelands that communities have lived in for thousands of years start to disappear? A few of the direct consequences of changing environmental conditions include loss of natural resources, restricted access to traditional gathering areas for food and medicine, and forced displacement or relocation. Despite these challenges, many Indigenous communities are adapting traditional life ways and advocating for change.
India is a country of diverse ecosystems, where varied forms of adverse climate events and transformation are taking place. Estimates suggest that almost 300 million tribals are there globally, 150 million of whom belong from Asia alone. India boasts a population of 68 million tribals, representing 705 tribal communities. Glacial meltdowns, floods, and the loss of forest cover threaten almost all of the nationally recognized indigenous communities including tribals from Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep. The consequences of observed and projected climate change have and will undermine indigenous ways of life that have persisted for thousands of years. Key vulnerabilities include the loss of traditional knowledge in the face of rapidly changing ecological conditions, increased food insecurity due to reduced availability of traditional foods, changing water availability. To resolve such a climate crisis, there is a need to map the nature and extent of the climate emergency.
While several cultural aspects of the tribal societies remain a mystery, it is a well-known fact that tribals have lived in few of the most hostile environmental conditions on the planet. Consequently, they have gained immense knowledge about the development and management of the forest ecosystem. This has later turned out to be beneficial for eco-restoration and maintaining a balance in the ecosystem.
While communities worldwide are increasingly shifting towards sustainable agricultural practices, the tribal societies seemed to have been the pioneers in the technique. For instance, tribal communities like Irulas, Malayalis, and Muthuvas in Tamil Nadu cultivate conventional cultivars like millets, paddy, pulses, and vegetable crops. This choice of crops has been influenced by their dietary practices and their dependence on rain-fed irrigation. Thus, selecting and conserving the seeds from one season to the next has enabled them to sustain and remain self-reliant. But most importantly, several such crops are now cultivated and conserved only by tribal communities in southern India.
Compared to the urban population, the tribals usually consume all parts of edible plants. Thus, they depend on several wild species for bulbs, roots, seeds, tubers used for edible purposes. Simultaneously, they follow the rule of environmental conservation while harvesting these plants, establishing ecological prudence. For instance, tubers of plants such as Dioscorea spp. are harvested only when the vine’s leaves have physiologically matured, turning yellow. The wild tubers are dug carefully to avoid damage to the associated species.
Indigenous peoples contribute in a myriad of ways to respond sustainably to climate change. For example, the Kichwa Sarayaku people in Ecuador have prepared the proposal Kawsay Sacha (Living Forest), which is an indigenous- led solution in order to protect the forests and keep fossil fuels in the ground based on the life-plans developed within their own community. Also there is a need to recognise the contribution of indigenous knowledge and practises in the maintenance of biological diversity. Traditional practices such as rotational agriculture, buffer strips, strip cropping, windbreaks and contour farming are some practices that increases the overall health of soil and grassland ecosystems which are critical for sustainable agriculture and retaining soil fertility. These strategies, refined over time and through traditional knowledge are still practiced by the Igorot of the Philippines, the Karen of China, Myanmar and Thailand, and the Achiks of India.
Ecology centric and reverential belief of traditional societies towards Mother Nature also gave birth to water saving methods which is prevalent in rural India till date such as the Apatani tribe of Ziro Valley in Arunachal Pradesh practice the wet rice cum fish cultivation; Bamboo Drip irrigation system of water conservation is practiced in Meghalaya where usage and conservation of water is done using bamboo pipes. In Nagaland, Zabo system of water conversation is practiced since centuries. Zabo which means impounding water is a unique combination of water conservation with animal care, forests and agriculture.
Most tribal communities conserve plants because of their faith in ‘Magico’ – a religious belief that plants are the habitats of Gods and Goddesses. This culture is dominant in the tribal pockets of Central India, such as the Balaghat, Dindori, and Mandala districts of Madhya Pradesh. Their worship of trees has resulted in the cultivation of myriad species like Arjun, Basi, Indian Bael, Neem, and several others.
The value of traditional knowledge of these tribals is shriveling fast, however it is well established that their in situ conservation efforts have created impacts to no limits. Several virgin forests, flora, and fauna have been preserved in the sacred groves of tribals, which might have otherwise been disappeared from their natural ecosystem. The sacred groves refer to the natural forests in Central, North-East, and Peninsular India, where all kinds of human activities are prohibited. These groves are home to multiple unique species of trees. For instance, a giant Mango tree covered by the twiner of Tinospora sinensis and having a hanging stem that looks like an elephant trunk is present in the sacred grove of Maharashtra in the Western ghats.
Therefore, understanding the pivotal role of indigenous knowledge systems in preserving ecology is essential for shaping the future of sustainability. Sustainability has imploded as an agenda with unprecedented scope and significance. Now the question is, how can we chart a new course for environmentalism through indigenous knowledge and experiences from the ground? The answer is simple; launching movements from the ground and mainstreaming indigenous practices.
We need to incorporate the suggestions of indigenous communities in policy debates and consultations. Their positive contribution to the sustainable management of natural resources and the abatement of greenhouse gas emissions should be appropriately recognized by the government, academics, development institutions, and aid agencies. There is an urgent need to recognize indigenous people’s land and territorial rights, as their habitats harbor rich buffer against deforestation- one of the main drivers of climate change. They hold invaluable ancestral knowledge on how to adapt and mitigate climate change. Hence, strengthening and harmonizing indigenous knowledge systems with modern science will further boost place specific mitigation and response to climate change. Let us not forget that they are the best guardians of global biodiversity and been nurturing and professing for years a “pro planet people” agenda.
*President, India Water Foundation
