1. Using biological wealth sustainably is one of the links to Biodiversity conservation

 

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United Nations’ “Convention on Biological Diversity” is often a less understood phrase bordering on ivory tower intellectualism that beats the comprehension of the Common person on the street. In this  series of articles we will uncover the significance of these three heavy words.

By Malini Shankar

Digital Discourse Foundation

One of the ways the Convention on Biological Diversity manifests for common Man’s significance is traditional medicines.  Medicinal plants is a significant focus area for Biodiversity conservation indeed. The term “biodiversity” itself remains beyond the comprehension of the lay person, unfortunately.

Biodiversity – simply put - is the value of a life form – a biological being – like say a very old tree - to the human landscape. Its value could obtain from its ecological, botanical, nutritional, organic, economic, spiritual, zoological, genetic, medicinal, agricultural livelihood value etc.

The Dodda Sampige Tree – the Pagan Goddess of the Soliga tribes in Billigiri Ranga Temple Hill Tiger Reserve, ostensibly more than a 1000 years old is one such life form of infinite value in terms of biodiversity.   

The Dodda Sampige Tree is a pagan Goddess of the Soliga Tribes in Billigiri Ranga Hill Tiger Reserve near Bangalore, India. The Soligas claim it is 1500 year old tree. © Malini Shankar. 

“Biodiversity is essential for human health and well-being economic prosperity, food safety and security, and other critical areas necessary for the individual and collective thriving of all humans and all human societies. Recognised by a growing coalition of political leaders, civil society, the business community, indigenous peoples and local communities, and other key stakeholders, we can all safeguard life on earth with dramatically increased and coordinated action. Let us look back in 2050 noting that we saved life for future generations, plants and animals. Join the Action Agenda and become a champion of Action” is how the official website of the United Nations’ “Convention on Biological Diversity puts it.

So for instance bees that collect nectar from the environs of the sacred Dodda Sampige Tree in Billigiri Ranga Temple Hill Tiger Reserve and build their bee nests in different echelons of this tall sacred tree have diverse nutritional values. That is the biodiverse value of this biological wealth. It directly supports the livelihood security of the marginalised Soliga tribes in the luscious tiger reserve.

The calorific value of honey on the different echelons of the sacred pagan goddess ofthe Soligas - the Dodda Sampige Tree begs research. Photo credit: Malini Shankar 

In Pichavaram in Cuddalore district of Tamilnadu, snake hunting Irulas were on the verge of starvation when the Asian Tsunami surprisingly spared the Irulas in their fragile thatched huts in the deep desolate labyrinth of the mangrove forests. It turned out that aerial roots of the mangroves inhibited the terrorizing waves of the Tsunami from decimating the fragile population of the Irulas. Then Collector of Cuddalore district Dr. G.S. Bedi, IAS included the Irulas in the Scheduled Caste List lest they would not have benefitted even from the rehabilitation package post Tsunami. The Irulas who were on the verge of starvation were then given training by MS Swaminathan Research Foundation in fishing, net weaving, oar and boat making, laying crab traps etc in exchange of fishing rights in the notified Mangrove Protected Area. These fishing rights were given to the Irulas in exchange for protecting and patrolling the protected Mangrove forests in the notified Pichavaram mangrove Forest.  So there is immense botanical and fisheries value in the sensitive estuarine ecosystem.

A born again Irula tribal has learnt the art of fishing, aquaculture, crab trapping in exchange for conervation of the notified mangrove rserved forest in Pichavaram, Cuddalore district of Tamilndu in India. It was thanks to these mangroves that the Tsunami waves spared fragile human settlments in the deep desolte mangrove ecosystem in  the Asian Tsunami of 2004. Photo credit: Malini Shankar 

Medicinal Herbs story of the Kani Tribes:

Tricophus zeylanthicus or ‘aarogyapaccha’ – a natural herbal remedy for hypertension gave the Kani Tribals in Kerala half the patent fees earned by the J N Tropical botanical Garden Research Institute in Thiruvananthapuram.

Fishers in Tamilnadu have been partners for sharing the benefits that Pepsico accessed by paying Tamilnadu Biodiversity Board some Rs 3.7 million to purchase the seaweed Kappaphycus alvarezii. Tripartite partnerships in biodiversity governance ensures the State is a stake holder (to hopefully) uphold transparent governance and fiscal balance.

The Convention on Biological Diversity is a legal instrument / Covenant of the United Nations – signed at the Rio Earth Summit of June 1992 which blueprints the pathway to sustainably put ‘people before the planet’ for a universal win-win solution to save Planet Earth’s biological wealth for future generations.

India’s Biodiversity Act of 2002 provides for national, state and district level administration of biodiversity governance with institutional support like Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas or Herbariums, Village Forest Committees, Biodiversity Registries etc documenting and channelizing fiscal growth through public finance, governance, sustainability etc.

Mapping the fiscal value of biological wealth and institutionalizing / legalizing Statecraft for sustainable harvest of such biological wealth is the cumulative goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity. This is the focus of not just UNCBD but SDG 17 too, just one of the focus areas in the 16^th Conference of Parties of the UNCBD that was held in Cali Colombia in October – November 2024 and was concluded in Rome in February 2025. 

Take another example – medicinal plants … neem leaves, garlic, fenugreek leaves, and sprouts of fenugreek seeds, ginger, cloves, cinnamon sticks, mint leaves, these are all immensely curative and sustainable for Humankind.

Bittergourd has medicinal properties that will interest Diabetics. Photo credit: Creative Commons. 

Pharma companies stand to benefit by such tripartite fiscal, biological sustainable partnerships. Let’s see how a honey packaging company pays a huge some to a State Biodiversity Board to gain 'access' to the honey harvested by indigenous people. The State Biodiversity Board accepts the money, shares it with the indigenous tribe, and the honey packaging company then purchases honey in bulk from LAMPS - Large Area Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS) Scheme, packages it with suitable branding and labelling. By marketing it with such branding the company makes millions of Dollars in sales related profits. 

The Soliga tribes seen walking here in B R T Tiger Reserve to collect honey. They hand over their day's collection  either to State Biodiversity Board or LAMPS in exchange for money. They earn their livelihood, the Biodiversity Board oversees judicious use of natural resources and the company that markets the honey sells the product ... with the profit the company earns it can afford to pay for the Biodiversity Fund of the UNCBD. (Cali Fund).  Photo Credit: Walter Keller and Malini Shankar

The purest form of honey it is said, is colourless. 

When a stipulated percentage of this profit is channelised as funding for Digital Sequence Information, the Cali Fund’s coffers is topped up and the indigenous peoples’ traditional Knowledge in harvesting Diabetes-safe unadulterated honey becomes Sustainable. Its a win-win solution designed and advocated by the UNCBD. 

Similarly different kinds of green Bamboo is cultivated and harvested by indigenous people in large parts of North-east India, northern Myanmar, northern Laos, Japan, western parts of South America and so on for anthropogenic use. After all Planet Earth boasts of 3000 varieties of Bamboo! Secondly Bamboo is the New Steel. Indigenous people make a living with bamboo carpentry and bamboo in construction.

Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute, part of Indian Wood Science Technology Institute of the ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change is researching and promoting new uses of Bamboo. Bamboo is now the new steel and is being propagated for use in the Construction industry. 

In the next part of this article series we will take a deep and studied glance at traditional medicines…