Land, water and the biological resources which support agriculture, animal husbandry and provide the essential requirements of food, drinking water and fuel are all under severe pressure. Protecting and reclaiming these natural resources and managing them more carefully is essential to sustain India’s life support system and these practices have started from ancient times. Various trees and plants are not only worshipped but cutting green trees have also been prohibited and punishment prescribed for the offenders. Indigenous practices are not only eco-friendly but also cheaper than the latest technological practices.
Tribal communities worshipped nature in different forms. These interns help them to conserve nature and natural resources. They celebrate the rituals related to green conservation and ensure that individual members followed the rules for Conserving food grains. There are many tribes all over India and they carry their own traditions and philosophy to keep balance in nature.
There are several examples of tribal knowledge applying to the conservation of nature One of these is the ‘Panikhetis’ Doctored by the ‘mostly tribes’ people of Nagaland. In the hilly terrains of Nagaland, farmers have tilled land by constructing terraces. This Terrace cultivation is known as ‘Panikhetis’ which directly depends on the amount of land people can manage to keep under the forest.
Yielding crops through ‘Panikhetis’ prevents them from being damaged by wind and reduces grain loss during harvest.
Another example can be given by the Warli tribes in Maharashtra. The Warli tribes are based in a few small villages near Mumbai in India. They are mainly hunters, fishers and rice farmers. They are very fond of painting. They practice a simple yet vivid painting style.
Warli paintings are sacred, these paintings show their respect for nature and all its forms, from the most gigantic to the smallest creature as well as plants. They communicate through their paintings, and their lifestyle and passion for nature are depicted with utmost detail. The Warli tribes celebrate the forest as the sustainer of life’ defined it as ‘hirva’ (Literally meaning green) and placed it at the centre of the pantheon, to be worshipped as the entity that sustains all life including theirs. Their folk songs depict their attachment to nature they tell about the conservation of forests and other natural resources through their folk songs.
These are just a few examples of indigenous practices which are saving the environment of India there are many more practices done in India which are much capable of conservation.