Many kinds of knowledge, many kinds of ignorance
Saturday, 4 December 2010
There are many kinds of knowledge and there are many kinds of ignorance, said one development philosopher sometime in the 1980s. A national workshop conducted by BARCIK (Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge) last Sunday (November 28, 2010), brought home this profound truth once again -- to those who cared to listen and reflect. BARCIK, a research-based, non-profit organisation, has been quietly working among rural folk, trying to sensitize everyone, including the indigenous women and men themselves (in this instance, of the Sunderbans, the world's largest mangrove forests) to their right to the forest resources. They have been tapping these quite sustainably, based on their own knowledge and wisdom, acquired over generations of interaction with nature.
Last Sunday's workshop was essentially a follow-up of two earlier ones that looked into the socio-cultural, not to forget, political, impediments to true conservation, that is, the exploitation of forest wealth in ways that leave room for ecological regeneration rather than depletion. Unlike the insensitive and ignorant commercial plunderers and pirates, traditional foragers do not generally fell whole trees for fuelwood, nor do they kill the bees when collecting honey for their sustenance.
There are many other do's and don'ts that forest people abide by religiously in this unique world of theirs which they share with many wild flora and fauna, notably the Royal Bengal Tiger. Bonbibi, (the Lady of the Forest), believed to be their guardian, comes riding on this beautiful beast and all indigenous forest people, irrespective of faith, worship her Cultural life revolves around appeasing the deity through various rituals, for example, by following rules like entering the forest area with the right foot and leaving it with the left. The abiding emotion is one of respect for mother- nature, the sustainer, symbolized in the figure of Bonbibi.
A number of indigenous women and men spoke with surprising forcefulness at the workshop, testifying to the findings of the researchers regarding their livelihoods, the problems they face and how they have been gaining confidence with growing awareness about national and international laws and rules, treaties and charters and their own rights and responsibilities. All this new-found confidence has been due to the support of BARCIK, and the speakers did not fail to mention it. While many different NGOs and other interest groups are active in the region, it appears the indigenous people stand to lose more from them than otherwise. One speaker claimed that BARCIK, on the other hand, had managed to free at least a hundred honey collectors from the clutches of loan sharks who prey on forest people in the guise of do-gooder NGOs.
BARCIK has reportedly helped the local folk become self-reliant and confident, and to earn the respect of their families as well as the community. This research-oriented centre appears to have taken an active stand against self-seeking groups and organisations that are holding the forest people hostage on the pretext of helping them. Since 2008, BARCIK has been steadfast in its efforts to secure the rights of the forest people to their own natural resources; to opt for sustainable exploitation of those resources; for coordination between the forest department and forest people's livelihoods; and, most importantly, for the dissemination of 'the scientific study' of indigenous knowledge and wisdom.
The Sundarbans is a unique ecological niche of a variety of biological riches -- at least 334 plant species, 395 species of animals, 35 species of reptiles, 41 different kinds of mammals, 210 species of fish, 28 kinds of shrimps, 14 different crab varieties, 43 kinds of mollusks and countless insects and other life forms. Some six hundred thousand people, spread over the south-western region, depend on the forest wealth. Although governments since the British period have been adept in collecting revenue from these forests, the rights of the indigenous people have hardly been considered. There is however good news. A draft Forest (Amendment) Act 2010 is reportedly in the pipeline at the moment, although the forest people as usual know nothing about it. When asked by the chief of BELA (Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association) whether they have any clue about the said draft, they unanimously said that they did not, and that they have not been 'consulted'!
Indeed, the draft act has neither been put on the relevant website for the information and input of the public till date (Wednesday 01/12/10). This is the typical top-down manner of the ruler-ruled equation that should have been thrown out long ago under a truly democratic, pro-people dispensation. However, the government seems willing to learn, and hopefully, the gaps will be bridged forthwith, to put in place a truly inclusive Forest Act that does not leave the indigenous people in the lurch nor trivialize their native knowledge base.
Exclusion is particularly acute for the females of the forest who end up becoming underdogs of the underdogs under the prevailing socio-cultural conventions that, like the rest of the country, continue to prioritize male needs and elevate their status in ways that are prejudicial to women's well-being and security. Thus, when husbands fall to the tiger's jaws the poor widows are ostracized on the superstition that somehow the wife must have been responsible for the husband's ill luck! The tiger widows therefore are obliged to roam the forests as pariahs, left to fend for themselves without support or recognition from anywhere.
Then again research findings show that while both genders are marginalised in the national context, the females get the shortest shrift, so to say. Women folk have been found to do most of the work, almost three-fourths, yet their contribution to the family or community is not recognised. It remains invisible simply because women's work has not been monetised yet. On the basis of these and other significant findings the BARCIK workshop came out with a list of proposals and recommendations that deserve consideration.
Such as:
l state recognition of forest-based livelihoods as professions
l inclusion of indigenous women's concerns in the national women's development policy
l provisions for compensation and rehabilitation of tiger-( or any other wildlife ) widows or wounded
l removing legal barriers ( if any) to women's equal right to exploit forest resources
l government support in developing forest-based small enterprises and marketing products with special focus on women entrepreneurs
l guaranteeing overall security for all forest people, specially the protection of women and girls against oppression, violence and discrimination
l the state must ensure people's equitable ownership over forest resources as stipulated in the 1992 UN Biodiversity Convention
l forest people's access to laws and rules must be facilitated, etc, etc
The list is a long one and should serve to open the eyes of the non-forest public to the legitimate concerns of the people of the mangrove forests. In fact, it should concern every thinking citizen of this tropical, agrarian and deltaic country, situated as we are in an extremely vulnerable geographical spot. The ecological implications of ignoring the concerns are bound to be dire for our entire habitat. It is hoped the government too would be motivated to attend to these concerns.
Last Sunday's workshop was essentially a follow-up of two earlier ones that looked into the socio-cultural, not to forget, political, impediments to true conservation, that is, the exploitation of forest wealth in ways that leave room for ecological regeneration rather than depletion. Unlike the insensitive and ignorant commercial plunderers and pirates, traditional foragers do not generally fell whole trees for fuelwood, nor do they kill the bees when collecting honey for their sustenance.
There are many other do's and don'ts that forest people abide by religiously in this unique world of theirs which they share with many wild flora and fauna, notably the Royal Bengal Tiger. Bonbibi, (the Lady of the Forest), believed to be their guardian, comes riding on this beautiful beast and all indigenous forest people, irrespective of faith, worship her Cultural life revolves around appeasing the deity through various rituals, for example, by following rules like entering the forest area with the right foot and leaving it with the left. The abiding emotion is one of respect for mother- nature, the sustainer, symbolized in the figure of Bonbibi.
A number of indigenous women and men spoke with surprising forcefulness at the workshop, testifying to the findings of the researchers regarding their livelihoods, the problems they face and how they have been gaining confidence with growing awareness about national and international laws and rules, treaties and charters and their own rights and responsibilities. All this new-found confidence has been due to the support of BARCIK, and the speakers did not fail to mention it. While many different NGOs and other interest groups are active in the region, it appears the indigenous people stand to lose more from them than otherwise. One speaker claimed that BARCIK, on the other hand, had managed to free at least a hundred honey collectors from the clutches of loan sharks who prey on forest people in the guise of do-gooder NGOs.
BARCIK has reportedly helped the local folk become self-reliant and confident, and to earn the respect of their families as well as the community. This research-oriented centre appears to have taken an active stand against self-seeking groups and organisations that are holding the forest people hostage on the pretext of helping them. Since 2008, BARCIK has been steadfast in its efforts to secure the rights of the forest people to their own natural resources; to opt for sustainable exploitation of those resources; for coordination between the forest department and forest people's livelihoods; and, most importantly, for the dissemination of 'the scientific study' of indigenous knowledge and wisdom.
The Sundarbans is a unique ecological niche of a variety of biological riches -- at least 334 plant species, 395 species of animals, 35 species of reptiles, 41 different kinds of mammals, 210 species of fish, 28 kinds of shrimps, 14 different crab varieties, 43 kinds of mollusks and countless insects and other life forms. Some six hundred thousand people, spread over the south-western region, depend on the forest wealth. Although governments since the British period have been adept in collecting revenue from these forests, the rights of the indigenous people have hardly been considered. There is however good news. A draft Forest (Amendment) Act 2010 is reportedly in the pipeline at the moment, although the forest people as usual know nothing about it. When asked by the chief of BELA (Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association) whether they have any clue about the said draft, they unanimously said that they did not, and that they have not been 'consulted'!
Indeed, the draft act has neither been put on the relevant website for the information and input of the public till date (Wednesday 01/12/10). This is the typical top-down manner of the ruler-ruled equation that should have been thrown out long ago under a truly democratic, pro-people dispensation. However, the government seems willing to learn, and hopefully, the gaps will be bridged forthwith, to put in place a truly inclusive Forest Act that does not leave the indigenous people in the lurch nor trivialize their native knowledge base.
Exclusion is particularly acute for the females of the forest who end up becoming underdogs of the underdogs under the prevailing socio-cultural conventions that, like the rest of the country, continue to prioritize male needs and elevate their status in ways that are prejudicial to women's well-being and security. Thus, when husbands fall to the tiger's jaws the poor widows are ostracized on the superstition that somehow the wife must have been responsible for the husband's ill luck! The tiger widows therefore are obliged to roam the forests as pariahs, left to fend for themselves without support or recognition from anywhere.
Then again research findings show that while both genders are marginalised in the national context, the females get the shortest shrift, so to say. Women folk have been found to do most of the work, almost three-fourths, yet their contribution to the family or community is not recognised. It remains invisible simply because women's work has not been monetised yet. On the basis of these and other significant findings the BARCIK workshop came out with a list of proposals and recommendations that deserve consideration.
Such as:
l state recognition of forest-based livelihoods as professions
l inclusion of indigenous women's concerns in the national women's development policy
l provisions for compensation and rehabilitation of tiger-( or any other wildlife ) widows or wounded
l removing legal barriers ( if any) to women's equal right to exploit forest resources
l government support in developing forest-based small enterprises and marketing products with special focus on women entrepreneurs
l guaranteeing overall security for all forest people, specially the protection of women and girls against oppression, violence and discrimination
l the state must ensure people's equitable ownership over forest resources as stipulated in the 1992 UN Biodiversity Convention
l forest people's access to laws and rules must be facilitated, etc, etc
The list is a long one and should serve to open the eyes of the non-forest public to the legitimate concerns of the people of the mangrove forests. In fact, it should concern every thinking citizen of this tropical, agrarian and deltaic country, situated as we are in an extremely vulnerable geographical spot. The ecological implications of ignoring the concerns are bound to be dire for our entire habitat. It is hoped the government too would be motivated to attend to these concerns.