Team Bay Bridges
1 Dec 2024
Bay Bridges fellows reflect on the key outcomes of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) and India’s commitments to biodiversity.
From strengthening the role of indigenous communities to ambitious marine ecosystem targets, there’s a lot to unpack. Let's dive in!
Priyadarshini Sen liked the goal of strengthening indigenous people's role in wildlife management and plant conservation. “It might also be interesting to think about indigenous people's faith practices and close ties to nature in helping achieve this end. The connection between science and faith at the grassroots level in reaching the so-called goal of ‘making peace with nature’ is intriguing.”
Diya Sur Banerjee feels strongly about the goals of harnessing communities’ traditional and local knowledge.
Utchimahali Mariappan advocated identifying and listing micro-biodiversity spots (sites with high biodiversity) involving local communities. “Despite having a mandate for People's Biodiversity Register (PBR), we have not explored this aspect adequately.”
Aatreyee Dhar noted the absence of PBRs during ground reports, especially concerning forests beyond protected areas like territorial forests and others in Assam. She usually takes photos of flowers and plants to write them out in reportages and then asks conservationists, who point out the importance of PBRs.
Nirupama Saini strongly appreciated that COP16 acknowledged Indigenous people's and local communities' role and involvement in biodiversity conservation and action plans. Additionally, the introduction of the ‘Cali Fund’ was a better outcome. “The Cali Fund reflects the principle that beneficiaries should share their benefits to strengthen the resources they use, to maintain a healthy and sustainable loop.”
Madhurima Pattanaya highlighted the time-tested, generational knowledge about biodiversity and nature conservation that Indigenous communities possess. “The knowledge is adaptively refined in response to environmental changes. Indigenous cultures, additionally, are deeply intertwined with nature. Preserving indigenous tribes and their traditional knowledge is crucial in conserving biodiversity and maintaining vital blue carbon sinks globally.”