Representatives of tribal communities from all over the country on Saturday voiced concern over the disappearance of endemic plant species, including rare medicinal herbs, from their natural habitat.Participating in an interactive session in connection with the ongoing conference on 'Streamlining India's traditional knowledge: Towards formulating a sui generic regime' organized by the Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development (AIHBPD) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests, they said human intervention and environmental problems were to be blamed for the depletion of plant wealth.
Over-exploitation
They said over-exploitation by commercial firms and regulations on entry into forest areas were also responsible for the situation. They feared that they were being slowly displaced from their natural habitat.As many as 50 representatives of tribal communities from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala took part in the deliberations.Asked for their comments on sharing and commercialization of traditional knowledge, the participants said they` were more worried about benefit-sharing and proper acknowledgement of their intellectual property rights.The session witnessed a demand for a national authority for traditional knowledge, with units at the State and regional level.The proposed authority would be responsible for framing guidelines to protect, preserve and enrich traditional knowledge.AIHBPD Director General Dr. P. Pushpangadan and Dr. s. Rajasekharan from the Tropical Botanic and Research Institute, who were the moderators at the discussion, said the conference would come out with a declaration on protection of traditional knowledge.
The Hindu, May 25, 2008
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