At a recent meeting of
INTACH's Natural Heritage
Advisory Committee,
INTACH's national chairman
L.K. Gupta reiterated that
natural heritage must increasingly
get precedence in national
policies, as the country is facing
new challenges in environmental
conservation and has already
suffered considerable damage
due to lack of management.
He cited the example of the
Ganga project where an
amount of $7.2 billion was
spent for cleaning up the river,
but this most sacred river of India
is still struggling to maintain
its purity and its very existence.
An audio-visual presentation
on Issues and Initiatives of
Natural Heritage highlighted the
progress made by INTACH in
the Bio-geographic zones of India.
In all, 258 sacred groves,
910 heritage trees, 74 precincts/landscapes, totalling 1242 natural
heritage sites, were documented
over the period 2010-2012. The documentation
emphasised that natural heritage
sites should have one or
more attributes, such as physiographical
elements, natural
landscapes, community-based
sacred groves, heritage or landmark
trees, historic gardens,
habitats of endemic species of
flora and fauna, bio-diversity
rich areas, etc. As collective action
is required for constituting
a National Data Base,
INTACH's Heritage Natural
Division also proposes to cover
in future agri-history, traditional
food crops and cultivars,
alternative medicine systems,
etc.
INTACH has already started
paying attention to agricultural
heritage conservation, with
Chapter Convenors having been
briefed to take up rural-related
projects in their respective
regions tapping into a number of
Government schemes and funds
now available in the rural sector.
While farmers still follow ancient
practices in many regions,
modern agriculture graduates,
trained in the Western agricultural
studies, are generally unaware
of traditional local practices.
It was also felt that some genetically
and agriculturally pure
areas should be notified as Reserves
of Agricultural Heritage. It
was suggested that Chapter
Convenors/Members working on
identification of such groves
should keep in touch with local
Divisional Forest Officers
(DFOs) and seek their assistance
in protecting such natural
heritage sites. It was felt that
INTACH should be represented
in Government committees on
Environment & Forests, Urban
Development, Culture and in related
agencies.
The Chairman concluded the
meeting by endorsing agricultural
heritage as an added
dimensions to conservation of
Natural Heritage. He also stated
that Convenors have already
been advised to include rural
heritage in the listing and
documentation undertaken in
their respective areas. (Courtesy:
INTACH Viraasat)
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