• The right of access to biodiversity and community right to intellectual property
and TK related to biodiversity and traditional knowledge related to biodiversity
and cultural diversity (Section 3k)
• The right to traditional rights customarily enjoyed by the Lingayats (Section 3l)
We acknowledge the limitation of these rights under Section 4 of the Act in cases where
forests are designated as National Parks or Sanctuaries, but point out that the processes
set out under Section 4(2) such as ascertaining whether other reasonable options such as
co-existence are not available – remain to be complied with.
C.
National Policy for Farmers
The National Policy for Farmers (NPF – 2007) is an attempt to reorient agricultural
policy to take a more holistic vision of agricultural production to include a focus on
socio-economic wellbeing. Animal genetic resources and pastoralists are among the
areas it focuses on to achieve in situ conservation according to the NBA.
The NPF acknowledges livestock keepers’ inherent rights to continue to use and develop
their own breeding stock and breeding practices and calls on the government to
recognize these rights, acknowledge, livestock keepers’ contribution to the national
economy, and adapt its policies and legal frameworks accordingly. As part of this effort,
it underscores the need to document the indigenous knowledge of pastoral communities
about animal conservation, maintenance and breeding.
To achieve these aims, the NPF calls for:
• Restoration of traditional grazing rights and camping rights in respect of forest
areas and in those areas earmarked for grazing purpose in village common lands;
• Formalizing entitlements (including issue of permanent grazing cards) for
traditional pastoralists/herders maintaining native animal breeds to enable free
access to notified or demarcated grazing sites and migration routes;
• Conservation and expansion on grazing land and drinking water sources for
livestock;
• Documentation of indigenous livestock breeds to recognize and protect the
intellectual property rights of the local communities / individuals conserving these
livestock breeds; and
• Involved of pastoralists in all local natural resource management programs,
including village forest committees and joint forest management.
We call on the National Biodiversity Authority
We call on the National Biodiversity Authority to:
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