From Victims To Victors: Odyssey Of Indigenous Communities In Climate Change Through Traditional Knowledge

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Vedant Nandkumar Wadshingkar, BA LLB, Government Law College, Mumbai

Utkarsh N. Patil, Government Law College, Mumbai

ABSTRACT

With each passing day, the impact of climate change has become more pronounced. Rare natural disasters are now the new normal of life. Such disasters have only exacerbated the disparity, with those who have the least liability suffering the most. Indigenous & tribal communities' reliance on nature has metamorphosed them from being vulnerable to being precarious. With climate change affecting every nook and cranny, one simply cannot remain oblivious to what is happening in the surroundings. Strategies & policies need not be only mitigative & adaptive, but can also be pre-emptive. By harbouring the traditional knowledge of indigenous & tribal communities, the pernicious impacts of climate change can be assuaged. Equipped with this knowledge, the very vulnerable indigenous people can be at the forefront of this battle to curb GHG emissions. The author of this essay has relied on primary sources like treaties, conventions, reports, as well as secondary sources like articles, research papers, news articles, etc., to arrive at the conclusions. Through a thorough analysis of traditional indigenous knowledge & the practices based on it, the author endeavours to demystify the relational nexus between key components like climate change, sustainability, indigenous traditional knowledge & practices concerned therewith. Contentions regarding the relevance of such practices have been scrutinised to ensure that obsolete & irrelevant practices do not get featured in mitigation & adaptation policies. By segregation of traditional climate practices into 4 field criteria, only those practices are inculcated which have satisfied the test of relevancy, adaptability & efficiency.

Keywords: Climate Change, Sustainable Practices, Indigenous & Tribal Communities, Traditional Knowledge.

FROM VICTIMS TO VICTORS- ODYSSEY OF INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES IN CLIMATE CHANGE THROUGH TRADI.

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