India is a mega-biodiverse country, home to nearly eight per cent of the
world’s total recorded species of plants and animals. The conservation of our heretic
biodiversity, sustainable utilization of its resources and access and benefit sharing of its
bioresources by the statutory biodiversity management committees (BMC) and selfhelp
groups at local level is a remarkably replicable model. Participatory, local level
traditionally linked, viable alternative methods are employed to conserve our precious
bioresources and some of the successful models can be identified at local level which
can be duplicated across the world for the management of biodiversity. Biodiversity
can be aligned with the livelihood primarily in terms of their dependence for food,
medicine and shelter and subsequently trade and economic needs. By our successful
models, local people support rather than resist efforts to protect wildlife and
biodiversity. Some of the models include Common man’s Tuber conservancy from
Wayanad, Kerala, conservation and trade of millets by poor Dalit women (The millet
sisters) from Medak district of Telengana State, ABS from broom grass employed by
BMC of Raipassa, a small tribal village of Tripura State. BMC of Pithorabad
established organic wheat marketing linked to local livelihood, BMC, Eraviperoor
employed best practise agriculture, and livelihood developments in Modi (Jheri)
Village in Asifabad District of Telengana. Sustainable marketing practice established
by BMC of Sikaribari from Tripura, sustainable trade and ABS for Medicinal plant
resource trade by BMC of Kalmegh and neem leaf trade by Andhra SBB are some of
the replicable models. People’s artificial reefs for sustainable livelihood for fisher folks
of Kerala, sustainable trading of snake venom by Irula tribal Cooperative society, trade
and sustainable conservation of environmentally acclaimed Ongole breed's successfully
to many countries, and ABS employed by Indian Institute of Oil Research accessed
microbial bio resources for insect pest and plant disease management of crops, are
noteworthy.
Keywords: ABS, BMC, Livelihood model, Local level conservation.
