Biodiversity for forests, ecology and economic development of Manipur
- Part 2 -

Akham Bonbirdhwaja Singh *

Issues in Marketing

Manipur have been dependent on biodiversity for food and economy and hence it has inherent utilisation techniquesof biodiversity to its advantage. Both plant and animal items were widely used traditionally by the people. During early days the royal palace have been depending heavily on the wild vegetables and animal products for use in the royal households and there were elaborate arrangement for supply of these items by the appointed officials in the hills and plains(Singh, A.B., 2017). The question now is to streamline such methods and popularise for marketing.

With the development in IT sector, marketing is not a big issue once the right strategy is finalised. A number ofstrategieshave been adopted by many countries in the world. it is possible to give biodiversity and other environmental ‘services’ marketableasset prices, market forces will then lead to the conservation of biodiversity. It was undoubtedly felt that a utilitarian approach would be more successful inconvincing development policy makers of the importance of biodiversity conservation. In fact, there seems to be a growing consensus amongst biodiversity policy makers that we do need to control market forces through strict regulation and effective enforcement so that the market pull on many of the smuggled items is reigned in to avoid exploitation and deprivation.

But then, like the state of Manipur, the biodiversity potential has not been fully harnessed, this may because, the research in this field has been lagging. For the items which are locally popular has not gone much outside this region which makes the market stagnant. I remember that the simple Thai recipe of cooking rice with bamboo shoot fingers reached Sweden and quite popular there. I tasted it but that was not very exquisite type, still commanding an international market.

Likewise many of our recipes and culinary items based on our biodiversity need to be popularised to gain a global market. The cultivated items like the aromatic black rice, King Chillies, and pineapples getting national and international markets, it is good sign, but my concern is with hundreds of wild and forest based vegetables such as bamboo shoots (including the fermented ones), forest mushroomsand wild medicinal plants which have not been adequately popularised and created its deserving market.

There can be a lot done with innovations in herbal nutraceuticals and nutritional supplements from the wild species by finding out antioxidant properties of our wild vegetables. Of course, it is also a fact that very popular items like Amla and Zanthoxylum (Prickly Ash) are not being explored properly is another big concern. When the biodiversity is marketed, naturally the forest gets protected. The marketable biodiversity falls in the category of herbs and shrubs and ground flora, fruits, leaves and flowers, the tree crops and carbon pool remains intact and in biodiversity protected areas, there are good scopes of carbon trading and REDD+ funding which is normally more than the value of selling wood as biomass.

There are also systems developed for payment for ecosystem services like payment for perennial water and clean air. When such nature areas are protected for generating bio resources, the good forest can be opened for ecotourism and side by side the biodiversity and local biodiversity based culinary and herbal neutraceuticals can be promoted and marketed.

Safeguarding Biodiversity

In Manipur, there is a need for proper system for extraction and marketing of our rich biodiversity. Being a civilisation of over three thousand years old and living in a rich biodiversity zone, we have developed traditional knowledge of utilising hundreds of biodioversity items particularly food items and wild nutrient rich vegetables. Exploration is very much lagging, a few being done also done by outsiders for their own interests, not for the benefit of the people. We can recall people from a renownedcompany coming for one rare climber, Embelliaribes but nothing has been heard of what has been done to their findings.

Nobody seem to know what the foreign countries are doing with the huge export of Paris polyphyla from Manipur via Moreh. We are still ignorant about Homalomenaaromatica being exported in huge quantity via Jiribam. I shall not be touching the smuggling of wildlife parts out of our rich faunal diversity because that part I am not considering for economic emancipation of the people through biodiversity and also that there statutory protection regime exists. When, the issue of commercial utilisation of biodiversity comes, the issue of overexploitation of bioresource and biopiracy is very common.

The smuggling of bioresources such as wildlife items and rare medicinal plants is common in the world today and it ranked third after Narcotics and Arms. Checking such unwanted activities have to be started from grassroot level by enabling the people to take care of their own biodiversity, access and benefit sharing one of the means. But many areas need to be addressed for the access and benefit sharing as envisaged in the Nagoya Protocol to take off. The rough edges of Biodiversity Act vis-a-vis the Biodiversity items from our Reserved Forests, Protected Forests, Unclassed Forests and Private Forests need to be smoothened for hassle free economic and income generation in biodiversity.

I find this as a minor problem, rules can be framed for marketing products from RF and PFs and there can be another set for the Unclassed forests and Private forests, this should not be the stumbling block to stop opening of this goldmine. The country has in addition to the Biodiversity Act, the Indian Forest Act and Rules made thereunder, Wildlife Protection Act and Rules made thereunder and Forest Conservation Act. The Indian Forest Act and Wild Life Protection Act are protective in nature whereas, the Biodiversity Act is regulatory in nature.

There has been concernsof the property rights of the owners of the traditional knowledge and bioresource being forfeited and the people not getting enough for the same. Now with the coming of the Biodiversity Act, 2002, many aspects of the exploitation are taken care of and the watchdogs such as National Biodiversity Authority and State Biodiversity Boards have been established. Under them, there shall be Biodiversity Heritage Sites and set up village Biodiversity Management Committees (BMC) which shall safeguard the village biodiversity resources10. The resources of a village can be documented in the People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBR) and the techniques for sustainable harvesting can be found out for safety the biodiversity as well as posterity of the people.

As the whole world is in search of some drugs or Genetic resources, plants, animals and microorganisms are increasingly valuable in the development of specialty enzymes, enhanced genes, or small molecules. These can be used in many areas, including crop protection, drug development, the production of specialized chemicals, or in industrial processing, it is quite natural that there is worry for the local people being exploited and deprived. Further chances of loss of biodiversity are quite high. Hence, the UNCBD developed a protocol for Access and Benefit Sharing known as ABS Protocol or Nagoya Protocol.

The Protocol establishes a legally-binding frame­work that helps researchers access genetic re­sources for biotechnology research, development and other activities, in return for a fair share of any benefits from their use. This provides the R&D sector with the certainty they need to invest in biodiversity-based research. Indigenous and local communities may receive benefits through a legal framework that respects the value of traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources (United Nations, 2010).

It is high time that the State Biodiversity Boards and state Governments chalk out a fool proof system of benefit sharing and marketing mechanism of the existing commonly traded biodiversity items such as Long Pepper, Smilax, Bay Leaf, Taxus leaf, Dalchini Bark, Litsaea Bark, Paris Roots within the framework of Biodiversity Act and CBD Protocols because popularising biodiversity sector shall be win win situation for both the people and government and a big step towards combating climate change. Safeguarding of biodiversity also is required from the destructive harvesting because the harvesting damage and harvesting waste also largely account for degrading the natural stock of biodiversity.

Harvesting in proper season and scientific collection method is highly called for. There is the general syndrome of green apple plucking but I believe that major factor is ignorance of the impact and technique. There are different institutions developing such techniques, one of them is called CAMP (Conservation Assessment and Management Protocol) or simply harvesting and processing techniques of individual species. This should fully check destructive harvesting and over exploitation leading to extinction.

Developing proper protocol for harvesting and preliminary storage handling or value addition has to be done for all the species in trade. The authorities of the Government handling such items or the BMCs or JFMCs (Joint Forest Management Committees) whoever has been empowered need to be well trained in such techniques.

Conclusion: It is quite clear that the resources of biodiversity are to be harnessed for upliftment of the socio-economy of the people. There is a huge potential for the state of Manipur. Extreme care is to be taken so that the resources are not unduly depleted and exploited by outside elements. With the shrinking of wilderness and degradation of wild stock there is serious depletion of genetic resources. For the unknown species in our forests also, they need careful protection as any plant could a source for useful active principle in future.

As per guidelines of the NMPB, suitable small areas can be set aside for preserving the unexplored species and active research can be encouraged so that all the species are properly catalogued before it is too late.It is good step that the state biodiversity board is setting up biodiversity heritage sites. Once this sector prospers, the people of Manipur shall prosper. The challenge now is adequate empowering of the BMCs for their respective areas and the JFMCs for forest areas. In absence of the either due to the nature of forests, it is necessary to place another grass root level functionary in position, better if it goes the JFMC way.

Concluded