Here are the highlights of Down to Earth Magazine (1-15 January, 2018). Only exam relevant topics have been presented here in brief:
- WTO’s recent ministerial meeting at Buenos Aires (Argentina) highlights the strain on the multilateral trading bloc from US unilateralism and its own `unfair’ system: The 11th ministerial conference of WTO in Buenos Aires (December 10-13) was by all accounts a flop show with no movement on any major issue. US position under Trump with his “America First” policy clearly says that the WTO’s biased trade rules are responsible for the US trade deficit and job losses at home and has, therefore, made the trade body a special target. USA views China’s state controlled capitalism as an opaque system that directly threatens the West’s free market economy. It wants China’s subsidies investigated but thinks the wto is not up to the challenge. ? India’s sole focus was on securing a permanent solution to its food subsidy bill (stockpiling of grains), a contested issue that put it in the thick of controversies at 2013 in Bali and in 2015 at Nairobi. But once again, attempts to reach a consensus hit a dead end after assistant ustr Sharon Bomer Lauritsen said bluntly that the US was not interested in a permanent solution.
- Sacred Groves in India – believes and forest conservation : Indigenous communities have marked forested areas associated with deities, spirits, rituals and taboos in many places. Such places, known as sacred groves, are the live manifestations of historical, cultural and emotional attachment of man with forests.
Sacred groves are found across the country, ranging from a few square metres to several hectares. They
are known as devray in Maharashtra, devarkand and siddarvanam in Karnataka, oraans, kenkari and malvan in Rajasthan, saran in Chhattisgarh, and jaherthan in Jharkhand. Communities in Himachal Pradesh believe that worshipping the forest deity would protect them from catastrophes like droughts, floods and earthquakes . For Rajasthan’s Bishnoi community, it’s a way of following the 29 tenets of the sect that forbid felling of green trees and hunting . The Khasis of Meghalaya need undisturbed forests for performing some rites and rituals , while the Buddhists around Kanchenjunga in Sikkim believe that it is their duty to protect sacred treasures that remain hidden in some forests and will be revealed only to enlightened Lamas . In a way, these beliefs reflect the kind and strength of the relation communities share with nature. Sacred groves occupy 1 per cent of the total forest area, but generate greater
ecosystem services as they are present in all biogeographic regions, climatic and agro-ecological
regions. Being remnants of primary vegetation or old secondary vegetation, they have high species, richness, harbour many rare and threatened species and serve as source of propagules. Reports show widespread loss and degradation of sacred forests in recent decades. They are almost nonexistent in much of the Indo-Gengetic plains, distinguished by high population density, agricultural extensification and intensification, urbanisation and industrialisation. Land grabbing is also said to be a major reason for the degradation. But in the absence of any systematic monitoring, it is difficult to say whether there has been any loss or expansion in the number and extent of sacred groves. - Mawphlang sacred grove, which literally means moss-covered stone. Spanning 77 hectares (ha) at Mawphlang village in the East Khasi Hills, it is one of the largest ancient woods in Meghalaya. According to local Khasi beliefs, it is the abode of their deity, Labasa, and departed souls
- Lush forests of Hariyali Devi, near Rdraprayag, though classified as a reserved forest, local people consider it a sacred grove, an enchanted place, ruled by divinity.
- Kathalekan (Western Ghat, Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka) is a sacred grove nestled in a valley surrounded by hills, with the gurgling Sharavati river flowing close by.
- Orans is a sacred grove of Bishnois—a sect founded in the 15th century by Guru Jambeshwar (Rajasthan).
(Courtesy: Down to Earth)
