Women's Day 2022: It's Time to Recognize and Value Women's Contributions to Biodiversity Preservation

Every year on March 8th, we commemorate International Women's Day to honour women's achievements and their contributions to economic, social, political, and cultural growth. People are also reminded of women's rights and gender equality on this day. There is one more area, that of biodiversity preservation, where women's contributions must be recognized and acknowledged on a worldwide scale.

Historical Background & Theme 2022:

Women in Soviet Russia were granted suffrage on March 8, 1917. Following that, in 1977, the United Nations declared this day to be International Women's Day. The theme for this year is #BreakTheBias which highlights the remarkable efforts made by women and girls all across the world to shape a more equal future in all areas of life.

The theme of the United Nations is "Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow." Its primary goal is to promote gender equality in the context of the global climate crisis.

As a result of gender discrimination that exists in all societies, women and men generally play different roles in the management and use of natural resources. Gender roles differ by region, but in many communities around the world, women serve as primary caregivers and natural resource managers, procuring water and firewood, managing waste, and providing healthcare, often using plant-based medicines. Women are more likely to prioritize a varied diet for their children and treat sick family members with free and easily accessible herbal medicines, whereas men are more focused on cash and non-food crops.

We can also see women's roles as custodians of natural resources, with extensive knowledge of water sources, seed storage and care, and the various types of benefits of plants, including for food, medicine, and aesthetic purposes, as well as avoiding land degradation. The application of women's vast knowledge is critical for the preservation of biodiversity, defined as the total number of species and ecosystems in a region.

"Women provide nearly 80% of the total wild vegetable food collected in 135 different subsistence-based societies," according to a UN Environment publication. Traditional medicines are used by up to 80% of the population in many developing countries. Women frequently have more specialized knowledge of various local and underutilized species.

A country as diverse as India is a rich source of examples of traditional knowledge in which women are involved closely in agricultural practices, which is reflected in gender-specific knowledge, particularly pertaining to seed selection, processing, and storage, as well as tasks that require a deeper understanding of the system, such as paddy transplanting.

For example, we still admire the bravery displayed by women in the Chipko movement in protecting trees, and women in Andhra Pradesh's coastal regions use the colour change in the plant Sesuvium portulacastrum as an indicator of water salinity. Another example is the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, which highlights the women's efforts in wildlife conservation in their region. These examples demonstrate the intricate relationship that women have with their surroundings.

Despite international conventions emphasizing the importance of gender in achieving goals, research indicates that recognition is only superficial, and in the case of developing countries, women's knowledge about biodiversity conservation is dismissed as naive and frequently ignored. The main reason for this under-recognition is a lack of documentation and research on indigenous and traditional knowledge that is communicated through oral traditions such as folklore.

One key reason for this could be that, despite the legal backing provided by the Biodiversity Rules and Act, customary practices continue to be discriminatory and anti-full women's access to grassroots decision-making. As a result, while recognition is limited in and of itself, both as a symbol and in terms of understanding, progress in inclusion is further hampered by the fact that no concrete steps are being taken to overcome the barriers imposed by customary law.

As a result, it is critical to recognize women's contributions to the global management of biodiversity. More importantly, the efforts must not stop with recognition; concrete steps must be taken to integrate women into the planning and decision-making processes on various UN environmental platforms in order to realize the dream of women leadership in biodiversity preservation & restoration.

Just Be Yourself...Happy Women's Day!!!