Biodiversity drives sustainable and climate-resilient farming and the biotechnology industry. Everything should be done to spread bio-literacy for an era of bio-happiness in rural and urban India through the conversion of bio-resources into jobs and income.  Biodiversity provides building blocks for sustainable food, health and livelihood security systems. It is the feedstock for the biotechnology industry and a climate-resilient farming system. Given its importance, a Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)...

Maoists capitalise on mistrust between JFMCs and tribals Move intended to counter Maoist influence over local tribals Panchayats in tribal areas will soon be controlling forest management at the ground level, replacing the control of the Forest Department. At a meeting held earlier this week between Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh and Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj C.P. Joshi, it was decided to remove Joint...

The relationship between indigenous peoples and forests was among the major issues discussed during a two-week forum at United Nations Headquarters that wrapped up today, with participants voicing concern about the impact on lives and livelihoods of deforestation, extraction activities and large-scale building projects. The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is “still very much concerned about the continuing eviction of indigenous peoples from their forests,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, a...

Long-term greedy is a term that a Goldman Sachs partner made famous, by way of self-definition . It is as good a description as any of making profits in a sustainable fashion. Lafarge displayed short-term greed when it violated the law in obtaining forest clearance for a limestone mining project in Meghalaya’s Khasi hills, to supply raw material for its own cement plant in neighbouring Bangladesh. It described the mining...

Nearly 2,000 indigenous representatives from all over the world will gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday for the start of a two-week meeting aimed at ensuring their full participation in development while preserving their culture and identity. At the meeting, the ninth session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, they and Member States, UN agencies and civil society groups will discuss efforts to guarantee...