Just a few hundred kilometers away from where the Ambani’s hosted their obnoxious wedding, marked by an eclectic influx of celebrities and influential personalities, the indigenous tribes of Rajasthan were saving the world, one seed at a time.
Rajasthan's Beej Utsavs
In the last week of June, the indigenous tribes of Rajasthan hosted their annual Beej Utsav, a kind of tribal research conference, where they collected and distributed natural seeds to each other and discussed ways to protect local seeds that were fit for their soil in a world threatening their commercialization and hybridization. Like some of the global conferences held by the UN, the beej utsavs strive to adopt sustainable practices– discussing sustainable agricultural initiatives to protect indigenous seeds to ensure food security and seed preservation. Fortunately, unlike the world conferences at the UN, the participants of the event meet annually with fulfilled promises and consistently favorable results. In fact, during the Beej Utsav of 2024, no less than 50 indigenous varieties of seeds were exchanged and methods to cultivate them in a way that’s environmentally suitable were discussed among the participating farmers, most of which were female. Towards the end, the participants also raised their hands in a pledge to preserve the indigenous seeds, which were found to be pest resistant and better than certain ‘high-yielding’ varieties that are sold in markets today.
Not only is Rajasthan’s seed festival a step towards healthier food, free from the pesticides and fertilizers, that have become commonplace amongst an increasingly financially driven food industry and an equally worrisome drop in land productivity, these initiatives also benefit the macroeconomy through increased production of seeds domestically, a greater participation of women in the workforce and an increased access to farming education for the indigenous communities– a rare, but prime, example of economic growth accompanied by economic development. If not mine, take the UN’s word for it.
Expanding on the UN's recognition of Rajasthan’s tribal initiatives towards environment sustainability, one question remains inevitable– ‘What can we learn from them?’
Collective Governance for Environmental Sustainability
The answer remains two-fold. Firstly, quite simply, the Beej Utsavs highlight the role of collective governance in the face of climate resistance.The success of the indigenous tribes of Rajasthan is based on their unity in carrying out seed protection. By acting as collaborative agents, they not only learn from one another and enhance the methodologies of their existing cultivation, thus maximizing yield, but they are also exposed to new varieties of seeds that perhaps may prove more beneficial for their land.
And that, exactly, is the second important lesson we can learn from them. The value of context.
The Power of Contextualising Environment Sustainability
The power of these Beej Utsav seeds resides in their suitability for the soils of Rajasthan in particular– a factor that is commonly overlooked in the climate debate on international forums. Every country, every state, and within it every local area has different types of requirements and a different set of physical features and resources that need to be protected. By emphasizing the role of environment preservation on the global forum, we are minimizing its role in the local context. This is true, especially for preservation of the environment and the biodiversity it inhabits. Though it is true that environmental destruction and climate change are global problems, affecting everyone simultaneously, its solution must be found by an active preservation of local resources. If the Beej Utsavs were an international endeavor, the focus would shift from seeds that are best for the Rajasthan soil to seeds that would probably be best for everyone.
Additionally, there comes the issue of the lack of equality on international forums whereby some countries get unfair recognition and greater diplomatic power. The solutions discussed in the meeting are also, then, catered to these countries’ needs. This can be bypassed by contextualizing the climate change debate, by holding regular discussions and check-ins at an intra-regional or intra-state level, and form societies that hyperfixate on the very specific issues faced locally and ways to use local resources to enhance climate resilience.
We must understand that there is no definite one-size-fits-all solution for the problem of environmental degradation. The practice of contextualizing the sustainability debate will increase individual autonomy in climate resilience as the responsibility of environmental preservation is shared by governments and local actors. Moreover, it will lead to incentivization of environmental preservation since preserving the environment will now have a direct, almost immediately perceivable, positive effect on their living standards or livelihood.
Lessons from The Swinomish Indian Tribe in Washington
Another example of successful localization of climate resilience, leading to extraordinary results, presents itself through Washington’s indigenous Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. Despite relying primarily on fish for their food, these tribals have adapted a community based approach to ensure sustainable fishing shellfish rearing. This is because these tribes enforce responsibility towards future generations through the local culture such that preservation of their environment is viewed as part of their cultural value system. By embedding values of sustainability and preservation of the environment directly in their culture, the individuals feel a greater sense of responsibility and are more likely to undertake initiatives to battle climate change. The individual, then, views preservation of natural resources as a preservation of their culture, incentivizing decisions geared towards local natural resources.
While the Ambani’s ostentatious display of wealth and success is a spectacular affair, spectacularly highlighting the growing inequality in India, the Beej Utsavs of Rajasthan is where we should be focussing our true energies on because that is the kind of spectacle that will truly matter– to us and to our future generations.
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hmm...good stuff! I think it's a unique take on the climate debate...shifting from internationalism to localisation is definitely not something I've heard before