Ministry of Tribal Affairs signed MoU with CSIR-NBRI for conservation of rare, endangered, and threatened (RET) medicinal plant species
New Delhi, July 30
In a major initiative to drive tribal welfare, foster sustainable livelihoods, and preserve traditional knowledge, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Government of India, on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow.
As per the release, "The primary objective of this three-year partnership is to establish a sustained, synergetic linkage between the two organisations to promote research and development for the conservation and ethnobotanical assessment of tribal bioresources across India."
The MoU was signed by Manish Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and Ajit Kumar Shasany, Director, CSIR, in the presence of Ranjana Chopra, Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
The occasion was also attended by Sharad Srivastava, Chief Scientist, CSIR; Dr Sachitra Ratha, Scientist, CSIR; and Manish Bhoyar, Scientist, CSIR, along with senior officials from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.
Under this agreement, tribal welfare and community sovereignty serve as the foundational principles for all scientific activities. The partnership focuses heavily on the conservation of Rare, Endangered, and Threatened (RET) medicinal plant species through advanced interventions, including the development of tissue culture facilities and specialised seed banks.
To ensure long-term, community-managed sustainability, local tribal youth will receive hands-on capacity building and technical training in these propagation and conservation techniques. Furthermore, all field assessments and research activities will strictly require the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) of local Gram Sabhas and tribal communities, fully complying with the Biological Diversity Act, 2002.
Every joint project proposal will feature a dedicated budget line item for grassroots community development, local value addition, and capacity building. To protect local interests, any intellectual property generated will be jointly owned by MoTA and CSIR-NBRI, held in trust for, or shared equitably with, contributing tribal communities, with financial gains funnelled back through National or State Biodiversity Funds and dedicated MoTA welfare schemes.
The agreement explicitly recognises Traditional Knowledge as the intangible cultural heritage of tribal peoples, requiring strict compliance with national Access and Benefit Sharing mechanisms to prevent unauthorised commercialisation.
Through joint thematic events, seminars, and sustained exchange programmes involving traditional practitioners and scientists, MoTA aims to bridge tribal community knowledge with cutting-edge botanical science.
"By empowering tribal youth and strengthening local capacity, the alliance ensures that bioresource conservation directly translates into sustainable community development and cultural preservation," the release said.
— ANI
Reader Comments
The devil is in the details. While this MoU looks promising on paper, I hope the 'Prior Informed Consent' of Gram Sabhas is not just a checkbox exercise. Many tribal communities have been exploited in the name of research before. The joint ownership of IP is a good step, but let's see how the benefit-sharing actually works on ground.
As someone who works in rural development, I can tell you that training local tribal youth in tissue culture and seed banking is the real game-changer here. Sustainable conservation needs community ownership. If we can combine traditional wisdom with modern science, it will be a win-win for everybody. Hope the budget allocation for grassroots development is substantial.
I wish more countries adopted this approach of respecting traditional knowledge and ensuring benefit-sharing. The Biological Diversity Act, 2002 is a gold standard. India is doing incredible work in protecting both its biodiversity and its indigenous communities. This is the kind of inclusive development the world needs to see.
I'm cautiously optimistic. MoUs are easy to sign, but implementation is where things usually go wrong. Who will monitor whether the 'Prior Informed Consent' is truly free and informed? And will the tribal youth actually get meaningful jobs or just token training? I want this to succeed, but we need strong oversight.
As a botanist, this is exactly the kind of partnership we need! Tissue culture can multiply rare species in numbers without harming wild populations, and seed banks are insurance against extinction. The fact that they're training local youth means this isn't just conservation—it's livelihood creation. Respect to India for leading in this space. 👏
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