Bhubaneswar: Protection of the environment has emerged as one of the major challenges for the mankind. Governments across the globe have been formulating comprehensive action plans and negotiating international treaties to protect the environment.
But, these efforts have not succeeded in reversing the decline in the environmental quality. This was opined by experts at a webinar on ‘Environment and Tribes’ organised by the Orissa Environmental Society (OES) Sunday.
Challenges like global warming, climate change, pollution and extinction of species are steadily rising to the critical stages.
The tribal people have been protecting the nature and conserving the biodiversity of the forest ecosystems since the beginning of civilisation, said the experts.
“We should learn lessons from the lifestyles of the indigenous people to bring lasting solutions to the environmental issues,” they opined.
OES president Sundara Narayan Patro said the tribal people consume fruits, seeds, tubers and roots, and adhere to organic farming and horticulture. Their houses are built from various natural products collected from forests. Medicinal plants identified by them are used for curing illness.
“Though their lives and lifestyles are intricately linked to the natural ecosystems, they stick to the principle of sustainability, remain away from consumerist lifestyle, put no stress on the functioning of the ecosystem and create no carbon footprint or pollution,” Patro observed.
Participating in the webinar, former chief of Anthropology department at Utkal University, Jagannath Dash, narrated his long interactions with the tribal communities by citing a case study on Similipal Biosphere Reserve.
“Tribes such as Khadias, Ujias and Birhors consider Similipal as their primordial home, take utmost care of the resources within their territories and function as the real conservationists. Their religious beliefs are intertwined with protection of various plants and animals,” he said.
OES secretary Jaya Krushna Panigrahi opined that modernity and consumerism have affected our environment detrimentally. “We need to emulate the tribes to protect the environment,” he said.
PNN
