At the same time, we are unable to act as custodians of the forest, so illegal logging, poaching and
crimes are being committed in areas that we once managed according to our customary laws. The
continual work we undertook to eradicate harmful or invasive species has ceased, and with it
precipitous increases in plants that are either harmful to animals or risk destabilizing the local ecology.
The reduction in available prey for wild predators has led to their encroaching on villages, causing
conflict between communities and the wildlife. At the same time, we are unable to assist members of
other communities who need to access the forest, which is reducing the ability of communities to
benefit from the forests.
Animal genetic resources: due to the significantly decreased amount of grazing lands available to us, we
have been forced to sell significant numbers of our livestock over the last 5 years. We are literally being
forced to sell our livelihoods to feed ourselves. Our camel stocks have been hardest hit, suffering a 50%
decrease in the last 10 years, and this drop represents a significant threat to the survival of the breed.
With the sale of our livestock goes our traditional knowledge. As our herds diminish, so does the
transmission of breeding techniques, medicinal practices and ecological understanding of the areas we
used to graze on. The potential loss of the important animal genetic resources that we have developed,
in co-evolution with the Rajasthani ecology is significant for a world that is suffering from climate
change and food shortages.
Our future: the continuing exclusion from areas for grazing raises serious doubts about the viability of
our way of life. With it will disappear our livestock, our culture and the virtuous relationship between
our herds and the Rajasthani landscapes we have sustained. We require grazing rights and a
corresponding increase in the market for our products to continue to sustain our livelihoods and keep
our unique breeds, including the camel.
Our children no longer want to carry on our traditional way of life because of the hardships associated
with the lack of grazing but at the same time are returning frustrated from low paying jobs in cities
where they went as unskilled labourers. We are caught in a no man’s land of being unable to carry on
their traditional occupations and unwilling to suffer the indignities of life as unskilled labourers.
OUR RIGHTS UNDER INDIAN LAWS & POLICIES
A. The Biological Diversity Act of 2002 and the Biological Diversity Rules of 2004
The Biological Diversity Act of 2002 in its efforts to fulfil India's commitments under the Convention on
Biological Diversity provides for the conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of its
components and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such biological
diversity and associated traditional knowledge (TK). The Biological Diversity Act sets up the National
Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and the Biological Diversity Rules of 2004 lists the functions of the NBA as
including regulating access to biological resources and associated TK for commercial and research
purposes. The NBA is also empowered to advise the Central Government on any matter relating to the
conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and associated TK and the fair and equitable sharing of
benefits arising from the utilization of biological resources and associated TK. The Biological Diversity
Act among other things requires the Central Government under Section 36 to promote the
conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity through in situ conservation and minimize the
adverse effects on biological diversity of any project undertaken through environmental impact
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