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biodiversity registers and are currently exploring the feasibility of setting up a tribal herbarium as a
reference base for identifying species and their status in the territories where they are found. Using
digital cameras provided by a supporting NGO, they have learned to follow standard procedures to set
up a sample sheet for each species or variety collected with the help of the modern botanists. Hundreds
of species of plants have been collected so far by these expert community ethno-botanists.
According to the Indigenous nomadic communities, the work must be done over the entire tribal
territory and over a long enough period of time. In the Iranian context, they recommend that it includes
collection in the summering grounds, in the wintering grounds, and over the entire migration route in
between each (in essence, four times each year). This should be done two or more times over
subsequent years. It must also be done in a large enough area, covering a significant number of tribal
territories. Next, the tribes plan to document wildlife and domesticated plants and animals to complete
their tribal biodiversity registers.
The collection and identification of biodiversity
should not be seen as a mere study but should form
the basis for improving the conservation of nature in
the tribal territories. It can also help identify practical
ways that the nomadic communities can sustainably
use and benefit from resources identified as having
economic value. While tribal biodiversity registers
and biocultural protocols are vital in their own right,
the process to document and develop them has
engendered strong feelings of cooperation, mutual
support, and solidarity.
Figure 14: Review of specimens collected by Shahsevan Figure 15: Tribal ethno-botanists from various
Tribal Confederacy in preparation for botanical nomadic tribes preparing their specimen sheets
classification (Courtesy: Hamed Zolfaqari, CENESTA)
(Courtesy: Abbas Didari, CENESTA)
Local Wildlife (including mammals, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, and amphibians)
Do you hunt, fish, or collect wildlife species?
Do you have specific names for them in your local language? If appropriate, some examples
could be provided.
What are they used for? How do you obtain and use them?
Are they migratory or restricted to a certain area?
What roles or values do they have in your community (for example, social, cultural, spiritual,
environmental, economic, and political)?
Are the wildlife species or local populations in danger of becoming threatened or extinct? If so,
what are the factors leading to this? How are they currently being or could they be addressed?