The Need for a Botanic Garden to protect and educate on Bio-cultural Diversity
The Need for a Botanic Garden to protect and educate on Bio-cultural Diversity
Many locations of the Malabar region of India turned out to be hot spots of biodiversity and local cultural traditions.
The need for a Botanic Garden that goes beyond in achieving the
conventional objectives like biodiversity conservation, education
or recreation, to the holistic functioning of the natural and cultural heritage
which benefit in multiple ways the local communities becomes significant to protect the heritage of this region. The focal interventions of such kind of a Garden need to be around “Biocultural diversity”
–the interface operation
of the diversity of nature and culture in a complex socio-economic adaptive
system. The diversity of nature refers to the flora and fauna in their natural
habitat (biodiversity), and the culture component refers to the human lifestyle
developments, influenced by the surrounding ecosystems, including food, health
care traditions, clothing, housing, language, religion and arts (cultural
diversity). In
India, over 4500 inhabitant ethnic communities, each people developed a multitude
of foods, drinks and medicines out of every possible genetic resource.
Biodiversity of the
Malabar region is greatly influenced by the management approaches of diverse
“socio-cultural groups” live here. There are over 30 ethnic communities in
Kerala alone. Each community developed diverse foods
and drinks out of every possible genetic resource. Several such culinary dishes
and offers to GOD, documented from some of the sites in the Malabar region.
Fast erosion of the belief systems, traditional knowledge, cultural practices,
art forms, and music associated with bioresource production and enhancement is
visible in the region. Validation and Revitalisation of the TK, art and culture
become very urgent, and so is the need for preserving and promoting the traditional
culinary diversity in order to conserve the rich diversity of flora and fauna
of the place. The way
of life including food, clothing, housing, language, religion and arts of this
region shaped the status of biodiversity around.
Biodiversity of the
Malabar region is greatly influenced by the management approaches of diverse
“socio-cultural groups” live here. There are over 30 ethnic communities in
Kerala alone. Each community developed diverse foods
and drinks out of every possible genetic resource. Several such culinary dishes
and offers to GOD, documented from some of the sites in the Malabar region.
Fast erosion of the belief systems, traditional knowledge, cultural practices,
art forms, and music associated with bioresource production and enhancement is
visible in the region. Validation and Revitalisation of the TK, art and culture
become very urgent, and so is the need for preserving and promoting the traditional
culinary diversity in order to conserve the rich diversity of flora and fauna
of the place. The way
of life including food, clothing, housing, language, religion and arts of this
region shaped the status of biodiversity around. 
Though the Bio-cultural diversity is crucial for bringing the harmonious link between nature and culture, unfortunately, this great heritage is under threat! Conservation of the flora employed in the lives of the people of this region will have to be demonstrated in such kind of a Garden in partnership with the dominant socio-cultural groups of the region. But, unfortunately, before getting validated (scientifically) bulk of the traditional knowledge, and practices associated with bioresource management is getting lost. Slowing the pace of this loss, and simultaneously taking steps to revitalise the critically important practices and knowledge with back- up of scientific evidence thus, become important and urgent, before this heritage become lost forever. This will be possible only by a holistic approach in conservation, consumption and commercialization aspects of resource management.
This sort of a Garden has to engage in the promotion of integrated conservation and creating sustainable income generation opportunities in villages based on bio-resources with principles and practices in the protection of cultural heritage. The integrated conservation can be made possible by setting up diverse gardens in partnership with the local ‘custodian farmers’ with collections of intra-specific variability of PGRs of food, nutrition, income and cultural value. The M S Swaminathan Research Foundation is engaged in developing this kind of a Garden in its campus in Wayanad district of Kerala.
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