If food is the vaccine, forests conserved by indigenous communities is what we need the most!

Ranjan Panda & Pragati Prava

Forests, nurtured by indigenous communities, can provide key support in providing food security and hence can help check migrations as well as absorb shocks of reverse migration. In building back, from the damages done by Covid, one of our major focuses should be on such conservation areas and the communities. 

The Covid pandemic has aggravated the hunger crisis in the world.  Conflicts, climate change and economic downturn had already been increasing the number of acutely food-insecure people in the world over the past four years.  In 2019, according to estimates published in the Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC 2020), almost 135 million people across 55 countries experienced acute hunger.  In 2020 the number grew exponentially because of Covid. 

According to the 2020 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report (SOFI) the world is not on track to reach SDG 2 (zero hunger) by 2030.  Food insecurity coupled with lack of nutritious food is going to be a huge concern.  In fact, it’s already a challenge that the world is trying to fight. 

Unemployment and related food crisis are multiplying the devastating impacts of Covid.  This is going to last for a long time unless global action is stepped up to secure employment and food for the vulnerable people.  In doing this the world needs to look at the forests and their protectors, the indigenous communities, as they have the potential to provide some lasting solutions. And these solutions are necessarily greener as the indigenous communities have proven. 

Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos. Without it, we could see increased social unrest and protests, a rise in migration, deepening conflict and widespread under-nutrition among populations that were previously immune from hunger.

David Beasley, executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP), on COVID

Forests, nurtured by indigenous communities, can provide key support in providing food security and hence can help check migrations as well as absorb shocks of reverse migration.

The Similipal biosphere region is a case in point. We talked to community members and other people to find out that at the time of such a global crisis, the indigenous communities of this area in the eastern Indian state of Odisha are leading a peaceful life exhibiting an example of sustainable food production and consumption system escaping the wrath of hunger, unemployment and the pandemic.

As far as information available with us so far, not a single COVID positive case has been reported in villages of Similipal. Yes, the community members are blissfully locked down in the bounty of the forests which they have been protecting and using sustainably for generations.

Forest provides food and nutrition security: The Similipal Example

The lockdown has given the inhabitants of the Similipal area a deeper sense of security and the nature time to get rejuvenated and thereby taking care of its people in a better way. As the forest meets most of the requirements of the people, there is hardly any migration. “The communities do not depend on the outside world for food or livelihood and thus they have least chance of contamination”, said Dr. Hemanta Kumar Sahoo, a researcher of forests and indigenous communities with long experience in this region. 

The biosphere of Similipal produces as many as 228 nutritious food items ranging from different tubers to greens to mushrooms and fruits.

Hemanta Kumar Sahoo, researcher, forests and indigenous communities

“The rainy season when wild streams get flooded and roads gets washed away making the sanctuary cut-off from the rest of the world, forest gives its best to its guardians so that they don’t have to get worried about food and can focus on cultivation. Half of the edible varieties are availed during rainy season,” Sahoo added.

They have enough of plant and animal resources in and around their villages and they know how to use them sustainably. Forest produces like honey, arrowroot, karanja (Pongam tree/Indian beach), kusuma (Macassar oil tree), mango, jamun (Black pulm/Jambolan), chara (Chironji), tamarind, mahua flowers, sal seeds, several tubers, fruits and greens, besides meeting their nutritional requirements also give them the required cash which they use to buy other materials to meet their requirements.

People of the forest are self-sufficient so far as their nutritional requirement is concerned, according to Dr Debal Deb, a well-known researcher with specialization on forest food. “Indigenous people thriving on the forest foods have generally low incidence of malnutrition and almost no incidence of cardiovascular diseases”, said Deb.

The nutraceutical analyses of wild foods indicate that forest-dwellers obtain a rich supply of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and starch); vitamins and anti-oxidants; and micro-nutrients or metal contents,” wrote Deb in his study paper titled, Food and Nutrition from Forest: Relationships with Forest Ecological Status and Management System.

“While the quality of macro-nutrients available in forest food is of better quality, the micro-nutrient content is very high when compared to the non-forest foods. This is because there is no trace of fertilizers or pesticides in forest food. Chemicals present in fertilizers and pesticides destroy the micronutrients,” said Assistant professor, medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) – Bhubaneswar, Dr Debananda Sahoo.

Micronutrients, specifically Zinc, Chromium and Selenium, are rich in anti-oxidants which prevent oxidative damage and thereby boost the immunity. Further, the rich nitrogen content in proteins available in forest foods such as mushrooms, snails and fishes ensure that the protein is properly assimilated by the body and the organ system – muscle, kidney, heart and brain – develops properly and functions well. All these make the forested communities immune to most of the diseases,” said Sahoo, who is also a part of the Covid treatment team of the hospital.

Conservation’s multiple benefits

“Our panchayat has a population of over 7,000 and only 63 people had migrated out. In the meantime, 30 have returned. They have served their quarantine period and are safe now,” said Mohanty Birua, sarpanch of Astakuanr gram panchayat in the buffer area of the Similipal wildlife sanctuary. While there is no trace of Covid positive case till date in my panchayat, other two panchayats in the buffer zone – Gudgudia and Barehipani – have also been untouched by the disease, he said further.

Not only are the buffer area, even the periphery villages of the sanctuary are untouched by the virus. “Neither the pandemic nor the series of lockdowns have had any impact on our lives and livelihood,”  We don’t need to buy anything except soaps, clothes and salt,” said Sania Singh of Bhagirathipur, a fringe village of Similipal sanctuary under Brahmanigaon panchayat under Bangriposhi block.

“Due to our community conservation initiatives, our streams reappeared and forest regenerated. So, apart from a variety of forest foods, we are getting a good harvest of cereals like paddy and maize; and different pulses and vegetables. Decades ago, our forest got degraded due to rampant timber smuggling by mafia and our streams got dried. At that time, a number of villagers had migrated out for work as their crops failed repeatedly due to water scarcity and there was hardly any forest produce to earn a living. As our forest revived, which is conspicuous since 2016, almost all of them have returned, Singh pointed out.

The latest draft India Development Update (IDU) of the World Bank has warned that the country may see a reversal of gains made between 2011 and 2015 when the poverty rate dropped from 21.6% to 13.4%, based on the international poverty line. It mentioned that nearly half of India’s population was vulnerable with “consumption levels precariously close” to the poverty line.

The IDU report also points out that the workforce in the informal sector, that’s almost 90% of the total workforce in the country, are the most vulnerable. These workers are at risk of falling into poverty due to wage and livelihood losses triggered by shrinking economic activity, government-imposed closures and social distancing protocols. Migrants face the worst risks.

These scary figures which also indicate that the inter-state migrants are at acute risk of increased poverty and destitution, have least impact on the happy dwellers of forests as we have heard from the locals from Similipal area.

“Here, the people (almost all aged between 18-30 years) have not migrated out in search of greener pastures, but out of curiosity and to experience a bit of urban life,” said Birua. “Now, those who have returned are not willing to go out again and their consumption level is not likely to get impacted negatively,” he added.

Government Schemes (MGNREGS, PDS) strengthen security

Jobs provided under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) further ensure food security of these forested communities besides creating sustainable infrastructure for livelihood.

Birua said, in his panchayat, the MGNREGS funds are being used in construction of canals and check-dams on wild streams. “We have been talking to the authorities to use the MGNREGS funds in management and regeneration of forests to strengthen livelihood and keep the ecology intact. During the lockdown period, Kukurbhuka canal-cum-check dam has been completed under MGNREGS. Once functional, it will ensure double crop in several villages. Besides, the construction of Naana canal was carried out during the lockdown period and it is almost complete.”

“Fortunately, after the lockdown, the work and the payment system under the MGNREGS have been regularised. One can get work every day apart from Sundays with wage of Rs 207 (1 USD = Rs 74.5) per day,” pointed out Sania.

Besides, people are also involved in poultry and goat farming. They get fishes and crabs from streams and creeks. While these meaty delicacies adds to their nutritional requirements, rations provided under the public distribution system further secures their livelihood, said Dhaneswar Mahanta, who works with CREFTDA, an NGO that contributes to livelihood enhancement of the original inhabitants of the sanctuary.

Similipal biosphere is house to over 8 lakh (800,000) traditional indigenous community members belonging to 1,461 villages, out of which, community forest rights (CFR) of 43 villages from buffer areas and more than 200 from transitional areas have been recognized. This apart, many villages are still awaiting for recognition. These indigenous ethnic groups such as Birhor, Hill Khadia, Ujias, Santhal, Kolha, Bhomji, Bhuiyan, Bathudi, Kharia, Gond, Mankadia, Paodi Bhyuyan, Mahali, Sounti, Lodha and Sahara are mostly dependent on forests for their livelihoods. The community forest protection measures undertaken by them have not only regenerated the forests, but also secured their livelihood.

Challenges there, but benefits outweigh

There are some challenges though. So far as the healthcare service is concerned, it is intact in local facilities like Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) centres, primary and community health centres (PHCs and CHCs). But when it comes to travelling outside for healthcare, they face problems as public transportation facilities have come to a standstill and people are not that well-off to afford to hired vehicles. They can still pull it upto the district headquarters hospital at Baripada. But, when they are referred to hospitals in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar, it becomes impossible for them, said Deepak Pani of Gram Swaraj, an NGO that works for bio-diversity conservation in the biosphere.

He also added that the marketing avenues for Non Timber Forest Produces (NTFP), a major livelihood source for the locals, have been tripped due to the lockdown. There are some perishable items and people don’t have storage facility. The govt should come up with providing storage facilities at community level, so that such exigencies would have little impact on them, he added.

If the trend of increase in food insecurity that has been seen since 2014 continues then the number of undernourished people will exceed 840 million by 2030.  It would mean, the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by then even without the negative effects of Covid. The fact that the COVID-19 pandemic may add an additional 83 to 132 million people to the ranks of the undernourished in 2020, as suggested by the SOFI 2020, is a matter of huge concern and this may offset by the SDG goals to a great extent.  The native forests, conserved by local and indigenous communities, as exemplified by the Similipal case, can play a pivotal role in ensuring both food and nutrition security for the local communities.

One action, many benefits

Forest conservation by giving due rights to the local and indigenous communities over the forests and other local natural resources could actually serve many purposes. In Similipal, panchayats like Astakuanr, that have fought and got community forest rights, have been doing a great job in conserving forests that have brought back streams, ensured food and nutrition security and have provided livelihoods.  Such examples exist in many parts of India and all over the globe. In building back, from the damages done by Covid, one of our major focuses should be on such conservation areas and the communities. 

In fact, globally, such communities are said to own or manage at least a quarter of the world’s land surface. While a recent global study says that as much as 22 per cent of income for the rural people living in and around forests comes from timber and non-timber forest resources, our own assessment from several villages spread across India’s central highlands finds out this to be up to 50 per cent or even more. Then, there are other benefits if these people stay with the forests. They help absorb a huge amount of our carbon emission.

An analysis by US based Rights and Resources Initiative reveals that indigenous peoples and local communities manage 300,000 million metric tons of carbon in their trees and soil — 33 times the energy emissions from 2017.

The SOFI 2020 recommends that by investing in healthy and nutritious diets, the social costs of greenhouse gas emissions (that is, the resulting economic harm) could decrease by 74%, and direct and indirect health costs could decrease by up to 97%.  The forests conserved by local indigenous communities can champion that. In India alone, forests support the livelihood of nearly 275 million people, who are dependent on forests for food, fuelwood, fodder and other forest products.