A Remedy
A Remedy For Restoring Mountain Forests Fast
(photo- Dharamasala, India (H.P) 2004)
We are presently looking at a massive environmental erosion problem that is endangering all of life on Earth and so a Remedy is urgently required.
The problem of Mountain deforestation and land erosion is a Global problem. Therefore it is important that the potential solutions could be used throughout all of Earth’s Mountain Regions.
With approximately 75 percent of the Earths Mountain forests having been cut down, it is vital that what remains is preserved and regenerated as fast as possible.
(Photo- Manikaran, India (H.P), 2004)
To plant a forest of baby trees and other indigenous plants, one has to reset the complex root structures and canopies, to resemble that of an old forest. Plants cannot be expected to grow in bare, exposed land. Therefore, Permaculture methods of utilising the different properties of plants would be very effective to create a protective environment to support these fragile young saplings. It is amazing the land reclamation properties that certain plants have. Using these it would be possible to synthesise a natural forest nursery. This would provide a root system capable of holding together the loose earth, allowing the young plants to take root and also form a canopy to provide the shelter, shade, cooling and moisture needed. These requirements are essential for young plants to be able to establish themselves and become a forest.
(Photo- High altitude (7,500 ft) Green mountain regions, N. India, 2006)
Growing a forest in this terrain is very difficult when the old forests have been so severely diminished and there is little top soil remaining. This is also the case when too much of the soil which remains is incredibly acidic or extremely compacted.
Green foothills and valleys with flowing rivers as shown in the photo above and those below are how mountain regions should naturally be looking.
We cannot afford to lose any more.
(Photo- Gangotri, Uttaranchal, India, 2006)
Many medicine plants are indigenous to the Himalayas and to all mountain regions of the World. Between the rich varieties of species are many plants potentially capable of providing all that is needed for re-establishing indigenous Mountain forests fast, with minimum effort on the part of humans.
Among them are plants capable of growing in some of the most badly eroded and poorest of soils. Some of these can even start regenerating the land by removing toxins, thus making it possible to introduce more varieties of other local indigenous plants back to the region.
(Photo- Nr. Gangotri, Uttaranchal, India 2006)
Within a few years of them being planted a new strong root system would be re-introduced and a certain amount of devastation caused by soil erosion would be halted. The lives of hundreds of thousands, which might be lost in later monsoons due to water pollution; caused when so much soil is washed into the rivers, could be saved. Many of these medicine plants have different varieties of the same species, which are native and indigenous to all of Earths Mountain Regions. What is being looked at here in the Himalayas is applicable to all of Earths’ mountain regions.
(Photo- Dharamasala, India (H.P), 2008)
Speed is of the essence and of utter importance in all of this. Every time heavy rains fall, precious soil is washed away. Once an area becomes rock it is no longer possible to introduce plants and all that is left is desert. Therefore the plants which have already evolved in local environmental conditions are the ones that will be the most successful for fast soil reclamation and regeneration.
SACRED GROVES AS A TRADITIONAL METHOD OF LAND CONSERVATION
(Photo-Shri Chandra Bhagwan Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India 2007)
Land conservation is not a modern idea; it is a very ancient tradition, practiced by traditional societies globally and dates back to millennia. The conservation of natural resources has simply been the means by which civilizations have been able to sustain those resources that they depended upon.
One way to preserve biodiversity is to give communities the right to look after it and one way the ancestors did this in the past was by declaring some areas as Sacred Groves.
Over 17,000 Sacred Groves still survive in India today; these have managed to save a lot of biodiversity that would otherwise have been destroyed and in many cases no longer exist anywhere else on Earth.
Sacred Groves are forest patches conserved by the local people intertwined with their socio-cultural and religious practices, which harbor rich biodiversity and play a significant role in the conservation of biodiversity. They do not just protect the trees. They preserve the whole eco-system: the birds, the reptiles, the animals, the insects and micro-organisms.
(Photo- Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India, 2007)
For many thousands of years throughout India and the world, people have respected the importance of nature and biodiversity and have protected particular areas as Sacred living temples. Because these groves had a spiritual value, they got cared for and protected and hence many important plant and animal species could survive and flourish.
Sacred Groves are a social institution, which permits management of biotic resources through people’s participation. They are storehouses of medicinal plants valuable to village communities as well as modern pharmacopoeia, and they contain wild relatives of crop species that can help to improve cultivated varieties.
Many Sacred Groves contain water resources such as ponds and streams, and the vegetative mass that covers the floor of a grove can absorb water during rainy seasons and release it during times of drought.
(Photo- Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India 2007)
The combination of the trees and various medicinal plants found in them improve soil stability, prevent topsoil erosion and provide irrigation for agriculture in drier climates. They are the repositories of rare and endemic species and can be regarded as the remnant of the primary forest left untouched by the local inhabitants and protected. They provide a continued reminder that human cultures and biodiversity have evolved together and that encouragement of such a link is likely to be a key element in an ecologically and socially secure and long-term sustainable future.
INDIGENOUS BIODIVERSITY
Biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on earth and now is often heard in connection with how it is fast disappearing.
“Widespread deforestation in the Indian Himalaya region threatens the region's biodiversity. Himalayan forests are disappearing at such a high rate that they could be gone by the end of the century.” (Maharaj Pandit from the University of Delhi)
(Photo- Tir Yogi Naraian Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal India, 2006)
“Humanity has to take some real responsibility because if we are not careful we are going to lose the resources of the planet that make life possible. When a nation loses biodiversity, it stands to lose not only its wealth, but its future. There is little time for the world to lose, as its biodiversity is already in great danger.” (Vandana Shiva)
As Jagat Singh Choudhury of the Kumaon Himalaya, one of the many ecosystem specialists explains:
"There should be every kind of tree in the forest; there should be fodder trees, fuelwood trees and those which keep the soil moist. Banj, Kafai, Ayar and Buraans will keep our soil humid and their leaves will make humus which will have organic diversity. There should be fruit trees also and trees which will supply wood for building purposes - and the most important trees are those which will keep the environment clean: broad-leafed ones such as oak. Creepers are the main resources for fodder.”
(Photo- Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India 2007)
It is important to note here that the presence of just any one species functioning as a resource is not adequate. It is the diversity of species, of animals and plants and even micro-organisms that is valuable to all communities. The elderly generations can still remember that previously there were dense forests with many plant and animal species in them. However now days many of these have been removed and if they are replaced, they have mainly been replaced by fast growing monoculture pine or Eucalyptus forest. Unfortunately, within these there is no diversity and so they do not do the jobs that are required of forest. This is not long-term sustainable.
(Photo- Yamnotri, Uttaranchal, India, 2006)
Our ancestors were fully aware that the natural resources that sustained them must be conserved for the sustenance of future generations. This deep connection between protecting the biodiversity and protecting the ancient rituals and traditions has meant that there are still many beautiful examples of both of these in the present day. However in recent times this strong bond has become weaker and both many rich traditions and areas of exquisite Nature are rapidly being lost. There are many places throughout the world where it is very hard to find any remaining trace of the rich cultural and environment presence that was once there.
These ancient traditions could however be vitally important for addressing the present global environmental crisis. Traditional knowledge of biodiversity is a source of great wealth of information.
It provides centuries of understanding of how long-term sustainable environmental conservation is possible. This knowledge has been tried and tested over the centuries and has helped to conserve the livelihoods of many civilizations and their surrounding eco-systems.
In comparison to Western scientific conservation models, which advocate the creation of national parks and sanctuaries, the conservation of bio-diversity in these people-declared-managed Sacred Groves is more effective. This may be due to the fact that these Sacred Groves are intimately connected to the social life of the communities and form an integral part of the cultural identity of the community. From this simple yet powerful principle, flows an understanding of the relationship of biodiversity to human health.
(Photo- Community nr. to Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India, 2007)
Suggested Remedy and Method for Implementation
From all of our research and communications with different kinds of experts and local people concerning the most affective method to restore and protect global mountain forests, we have come to the decision that the tradition of Sacred Groves is a vital key to success.
Using a scientific and environmental understanding of the Sacred Groves, strategies for rehabilitation of degraded landscapes would be a way to both regenerate the biodiversity and re-vitalize the lives of the local people. Using this method, the local people would naturally receive greater natural resources and greater understanding of the importance of land preservation and conservation, in order to sustain their livelihoods and that of future generations.
(Photo- Tarkeshwar Sacred Grove, Uttaranchal, India 2007)
We recommend creating new Sacred Groves throughout mountain regions as a way to help to restore and preserve existing forests and Groves. It is vital that this is done using local indigenous plants such as Oak, Amla, Cedrus Deodar, Tulsi, Hemp, Peepal, Yew, Birch, Walnut, Vetiver, some of the Legume family and others, according to the particular area. Many of these plants have both medicinal qualities and beneficial properties for land conservation.
By using a combination of Permaculture methods and Traditional knowledge these properties can be understood and utilised when planning and creating the new Groves.
By establishing a number of new Sacred Groves over a large area with approximately 10 km between each one and by joining them with green belts/corridors, we believe it could be possible to create a model and method which could lead to healthy indigenous young forests throughout the Himalayas and Earths Mountain Regions.
(Photo- Green Kedarnath Valley, Uttaranchal, India, 7,000 feet altitude)
Green corridors are the areas of land running between the Groves, where useful medicinal plants and vegetation can be planted for community cottage industry. This will provided them with resources and education and motivate long-term sustainable conservation.This would naturally provide short-term and long-term benefits as more biodiversity would be able to spread between them.
We recommend that the management of these Green Corridors is linked with the local community schools and healthcare clinics so that the resources will be beneficial to the whole community.
Because it is a method, which is so interrelated with both the ancient and present day traditions of indigenous communities, it could be a method that spreads fast and easily world wide; without the normal resistance that many conservational efforts so often come up against.
(Photo- Tsol Pema, nr. Mandi, India (H.P) 2004)
It can be easily adapted to the needs and traditions of the different places and does not necessarily need to have any religious connotations. These groves can be simply protected Peace Gardens (places of natural beauty and resources that are open and preserved for the whole community).
This Remedy offers a means by which countries of the world can take effective action to regenerate their own unique Eco-systems and prevent further breakdown and inevitable collapse unless action is taken fast.
This Remedy is a possible way for activating and implementing the Long-term Environmental Sustainable Development Goals agreed upon by world governments in the U.N at various Earth Summits, since 1992. In these Summits resolutions have been made:
“Mountain eco-systems support particular livelihoods and include significant watershed resources, biological diversity and unique flora and fauna. Many are particularly fragile and vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and need specific protection. Actions of all levels are required”
“Implement programs to address, were appropriate, deforestation, erosion, land degradation, loss of biodiversity, disruption of water flows and retreat of glaciers”
“This underlines also the importance of enhancing the sustainability of ecosystems that provide essential resources and services for human well-being and economic activity and developing innovative means of financing for their protection.” (U.N Resolutions 2006)
(Photo- Kedarnath, Uttaranchal, India 2006)
Rather than considering what we can make from this, or what it will cost us, we could really be considering what this could potentially save us and at least try to make a positive difference.
If it was to cost 1 billion pounds so save many hundreds of billions, the savings would be great indeed and the cost very small. If it was to cost us this to potentially save our families and multiples of future generations then the cost would indeed be very small and certainly worth paying.
Throughout the world there are many environmental groups and government bodies, working on local environmental problems and doing great and valuable work. However unless we consider the greater picture and long term sustainable development within our given projects then we cannot expect to effectively succeed overall.
(Photo- Snowless Mountain Peak, Dharamasala, India (H.P), 2006)
“The abuse of the environment, which has resulted in such harm to the human community, arose out of ignorance of the importance of the environment. I think it is essential to help people to understand this. We need to teach people that the environment has a direct bearing on our own benefit.”
(H.H Dalai Lama ‘Ecology and the Human Heart’)
“All life forms have an intrinsic worth and a right to evolve freely on their own terms. Humankind is one among millions of other species. It does not have a right to push other species to extinction, or to manipulate them for greed, profit and power without concern for their well-being” (H.H Dalai Lama)
"Recognizing that environmental management of mountains needs to take holistic approaches in conserving the environment, while at the same time providing sustainable incomes for mountain dwellers, including appropriate compensation for their services;" (U.N.U International Symposium on Conservation of Mountain Ecosystems, Tokyo, Japan 2002)
(photo- Dharamasala, India (H.P) 2006)
With the Local people working together, supported by others around the World, Fast Mountain Regeneration is still potentially possible.