•
•
Advise the Central Government and coordinate the activities of the State
Biodiversity Boards to protect our customary rights to access forest areas so as to
safeguard our traditional lifestyles that ensure the conservation and sustainable use
local biodiversity, associated traditional knowledge and the local ecosystem (under
Section 36 of the National Biodiversity Act); and
Ensure that our prior informed consent (according to customary law) is obtained
before any decisions are taken that affect our traditional way of life or access is
granted to our medicinal plants and associated traditional knowledge for research
or for commercial purposes, and to further assist us to ensure that we receive a fair
and equitable share of the benefits arising from the utilization of our breeds and
traditional knowledge according to mutually agreed terms (under Section 21 of the
national biodiversity Act).
We also call upon the Forest Department to re-engage with us on the issue of forest
conservation. We require access to the forest produce so that we can sustainably harvest
certain medicinal plants for direct use as well as to populate our herbal gardens and dharam
bageechis. We want to be recognized as village botanists, able to provide community
support to the Department’s conservation efforts.
We thank Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti
We are grateful to the assistance given to us over 25 years by Jagran Jan Vikas Samiti. JJVS
has raised our awareness of the benefits we provide to our communities, organized us to
amplify our voices and helped us to develop according to our community specific needs.
They helped us to revitalize our traditions and have always promoted self-sufficiency over
becoming dependent on outside inputs. We are grateful for their establishment of the Guni
Ashram and their ongoing support that we accept as independent and equal partners.
We express solidarity with all traditional healers
This protocol represents a declaration of solidarity with all Gunis in India and with other
traditional healers in the world who share our bio-spiritual ethics.
Contact information
Ganesh Purohit
Director, JJVS
Sapetia Road
Bedla
Udaipur
+91 294 244 1322
jagran@datainfosys.net
www.jjvs.org
Final note: We developed
this protocol with assistance
from JJVS and Natural
Justice:
Lawyers
for
Communities
and
the
Environment.