Morung Express News
Kohima | September 9
A book titled 'Biodiversity Conservation, Indigenous Knowledge and Practices: A Naga Perspective' written by Academician and Researcher Dr. Martemjen Jamir was officially launched on September 9, by Neingulo Krome, Secretary General, NPMHR along with the commemoration of the founding day of the Naga Peoples' Movement for Human Rights.
The book is a first of its kind documentation of the Naga indigenous knowledge and practices from the perspective of biodiversity conservation which also provides insights and suggestions for future adoption of conservation strategies both in the state level as well as international forum.
"With its indigenous tribal population, Nagaland is on par excellence an area of continuous interaction between the people and the nature with all its endowments. Like most of the indigenous people around the world, their indigenous knowledge stands rich in perception, precision and management of their environment which comes from time-tested experience," states the author Dr. Martemjen. He added that biodiversity has provided the Nagas a broad array of livelihood options and at the same time their traditional knowledge, techniques and practices have sustainably maintained the biodiversity in the state.
The book is also an attempt to defy the contemptuous notion of the conservationists towards indigenous people and their knowledge, where the author asserts that 'indigenous knowledge is in fact scientific'. This contemptuous perspective has often led to the adoption of policies and laws on biodiversity conservation from a top-down approach. Therefore, the book provides a 'bottom-up' approach where Dr. Martemjen highlights the valuable conservation insights through the Naga's traditional knowledge, values and practices.
“Even in the contemporary technological age, the traditional indigenous resource management practiced by the Nagas can well serve as a catalyst for effective management and conservation of biodiversity in a situation where modern science fail to provide answers to the most crucial issue of conserving the global biological diversity that directly concerns the future of humanity,” affirms Dr. Martemjen.
The book focuses on the ancient Naga indigenous knowledge systems for the conservation of biodiversity, which according to Prof. KG Saxena, School of Environmental Studies, JNU in a foreword, provides a new dimension towards the holistic approach for conservation of biological diversity not only for geographical studies but also for scientific studies.
Published by Notionpress, the book is priced at Rs 250 and is available on all online stores such as Flipkart, Amazon.
.jpg)
.jpg)
