Traditional Indian Practices for Environmental Sustainability

Abstract

India has one of the world’s oldest and most diverse systems of ecological knowledge, accumulated over a long period through observation and reliance on nature. In the Indian context, the term was unheard of in our language long before it could enter global policy discourse. The title refers to the sustainable management of forests and water in Indian communities, based on practice, experience and spiritual worldview to achieve social and environmental benefits while conserving soil and biodiversity. This research paper assesses the traditional sacred groves, community-based water harvesting, organic and mixed-crop agriculture, and the indigenous and tribal community’s customary resource management institutions which are ecologically compatible in India. It is argued that the cases of Badhon_tree_culture (Paraguay, Michoacán, Mexico) and the pontoon architecture of Nagapattinam, India, illustrate this through in-depth analysis. Furthermore, it looks at how these indigenous systems remain relevant in tackling current sustainability issues such as climate change, water security and loss of biodiversity. In other parts of the world which is suffering from similar ecological pressures, a blend of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and modern environmental science (ES) can help in achieving sustainable development in India.