The Narayana Reddy Column
Regenerate resources to
increase access
N
atural resources are becoming
scarce mainly due to population
growth, consumeristic life styles
etc. Majority of the population in the
third world do not have access to even
primary needs like water, food, cloth
and housing. However, population is
not the only reason for resource
scarcity but the lack of knowledge
about using them. For instance, during
late seventies, I was collecting a few
herbs in my area to sell them to a crude
drugs dealer in Bangalore. One day
when I was digging ‘Aswagandha’ for
roots, an old lady who was collecting
dry branches for fuel advised me not to
dig all of them but to leave a few plants
to grow and shed seeds for
regeneration. It is then that I thought
about the importance of preservation
and regeneration of species, so that we
get them regularly. So it is very
important that not only availability, but
also commodities need to be managed
carefully and efficiently.
During the British rule, the arecanut
growers were authorized to collect dry
leaves from 9 acres of forest for
mulching and manuring one acre of
arecanut plantation. However, as
enough attention was not given for
regeneration of new trees, most of
these assigned forest lands popularly
known as “SOPPINA BETTA” in
Shimoga and North Kanara districts of
Karnataka have become barren lands
now.
Similarly, ground water has been
exploited to grow sugar cane, cotton,
tobacco for export, causing serious
water problem not only for agriculture,
but also for drinking water purposes.
Now it is very important to educate
people to use techniques to recharge
the bore-wells and rainwater
harvesting.
Due to repeated droughts, fodder has
become scarce. Due to negligence,
many old trees like Banyan and pipal
have been felled either to broaden the
roads or to build houses and factories,
rural population have no other means
of getting fodder cultivating only
fodder crops. It is very important that
more and more crops are raised for
fodder, green manure, food and fuel
etc., to face the drought situations.
In the name of false economic reasons,
many of our traditional practices of
collecting and utilising natural
resources have been neglected. They
have to be revived. Most of the
community lands like dried up tanks,
canal beds, burial grounds etc., could
have been allotted to the landless and
the poor rural communities to raise
nurseries and grow some food crops so
that they can get some economic
support during drought years. When I
think of our irrigation canal beds which
run into few million kilometers in
Karnataka State alone, are kept barren.
If these canal beds were planted with
green manure trees, fodder trees,
grasses and fruit trees, they could have
provided employment as well as food
for atleast 10 million poor people.
Any country could be economically
strong only when its soils are healthy
and productive. Not just information
technology and bio-technology makes
a country stronger, instead, rich bio-
diversity, strong and healthy people
and rich productive soils are the
indicators of a healthy nation.
In Madhya Pradesh, villagers have a
beautiful system of sharing only fully
grown trees for fuel and timber from
the forest. All the residents of these
cluster villages have to make a request
to the committee about their
requirements of fuel and timber. The
committee will assess the quantity
available and the needs of the villagers. A
nominal charge is collected by the
beneficiaries which will be spent to plant
seedlings at the same place, where they
cut old trees, and also offer prayers before
cutting trees.
With the new policies of the government
on forests, building dams for irrigation
and power projects and also installing
new power transmission lines, vast areas
LEISA INDIA
of thick forests have been destroyed and
huge tribal populations have been
displaced, in many cases, even without
rehabilitation. Many state governments
have formed corporations to process
and market forest products and also
employed outsiders who do not know
the situation in the area. So it is better
to form tribal co-operatives to collect,
process and market the produce by
themselves. The officials, however,
may help them in training, financial
matters and providing support for
marketing, so that they can live happily
at their habitats peacefully. Similarly,
bio-diversity conservation job could be
assigned to the rural folks. They get
employment in the rural areas, be more
efficient than a graduate official, who
lacks indigenous or traditional
knowledge of the local breeds and the
situations. Seed collection is another
important profession, in which older
women who have knowledge than any
learned personnel, be employed.
Inspite of our huge population, we still
have many opportunities to access
natural resources, provided, we have a
concern for their regeneration.
■
L. Narayana Reddy
Srinivasapura
Via Maralenanahalli
Doddaballapura Taluk
Hanabe – 561 203
Ph : (C : 080) 7651360
• SEPTEMBER 2003 27