Practices of mitigating biodiversity loss among indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh Bulia Pulu Womens Coordinator, RCE East Arunachal Pradesh, India E-mail: bulia13pulu@gmail.com Abstract-Contribution of indigenous communities all over the world in lessening biodiversity loss has been well recognized. Sustained Himalayan biodiversity in its pristine form exists as a great feature in Arunachalee tribes who live in tune with nature. Credit goes to their practices, strong beliefs, taboos, nature worship and their wisdom in replenishing biodiversity loss. The Apatani t r i b e o f Central Arunachal Pradesh, having 29,546 population limited only to 43 sq.km is an example of teaching value. Their practices based on their ancient wisdom is a developed rice cum fish cultivation with finger millet on the bunds over an area of 3,300 ha while around 1,000 ha is under rain-fed upland farming. They replenished their limited mountainous region by planting pine trees and thereby maintaining natural sources of water for the pisciculture. This wisdom has made them efficient natural resource managers with rich traditional knowledge that attracted the attention of UNESCO for consideration as a declared World Heritage Site. No doubt, it’s a great example of sharing knowledge, expertise, and technology with multi stakeholders, which is one of the main aims of RCEs. The example also can teach sustainable management of natural resources, replenishing the forests and halting biodiversity loss; one of the important sustainable development goals. This could be replicated in many parts of the land-locked valleys and remote hilly regions of the world. RCE East Arunachal Pradesh has effectively transmitted these conservation strategies from one tribe to another. Keywords: Himalayan State, tribes, wet rice culture, irrigation system, rich fish farming, sacred groves, totem, taboo INTRODUCTION The Himalayan State of Arunachal Pradesh has a ‘highly precipitous and varied terrain’ (Ramakrishnan, 1992). It is a land of lush green forests, deep river valleys and beautiful plateaus, unparalleled in the world for the concentration, isolation and diversity of tribal cultures it contains. It is home to 25 major and 100 minor tribes having unique cultural practices. The tribal community of the state largely depend upon diverse agriculture practices ranging from a variety of shifting agriculture systems, fallow systems and wet-rice cultivation (Ramakrishnan, 1992). Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the 123 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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