This presentation was made at the 'Towards a Higher Education of Inclusion, Collaboration and Community Engagement' workshop by D. Narasimhan from the Dept. of Botany, Madras Christian College, Chennai. Professor Narasimhan pointed out that agriculture is the single most impactful shift upon the environment in human history. Settled cultivation wiped out huge swathes of forest and is far more destructive than the much-maligned shifting cultivation, also described as slash-and-burn cultivation. This shift in human practice is integral to cultures and indigenous medicines though. Food has become globalised much before markets ever did - with fruits and vegetables indigenous to locations across the globe become central to Indian cuisine. Sacred groves are praised as examples of culture protecting ecology but are vulnerable to the decisions of hard economics with land needs for agriculture or other purposes shrinking their boundaries. Again, a sacred grove could hold certain species alone as totemic objects while others could be destroyed.

1. CULTURE AND ECOLOGY D. Narasimhan Centre for Floristic Research Department of Botany, Madras Christian College (Autonomous) Tambaram, Chennai – 600 059 [email_address]

2. A shift in the mode of obtaining food approximately 12,000 years ago has resulted in most of the ecological changes that have taken place on earth.

3. Human cultures have shifted from Gathering and Hunting mode of food to Production mode

4. Systematic destruction of forests and changing the different the ecosystems for cultivation began since then

5. Neolithic cultures were engaged in intense agriculture

7. THE ORIGIN OF AGRICULTURAL CROPS AND OF DOMESTIC ANIMALS

8. How do we assess the interference of human cultures on ecology?

9. Should we blame the cultures for raping, looting and destroying the nature?

10. Should we appreciate the role of cultures in taming, modifying and controlling the nature and making the earth a comfortable home for human progeny?

11. Shifting cultivation: How do we understand the practice?

12. Agricultural landscapes and biodiversity

13. 45% of the species used by Malaiyali tribe comes agricultural landscapes

14. 20% of the plants used in Siddha medicine Come from agricultural landscapes

15. Anthropogenic Biomes of the World * Mosaic : >25% tree cover mixed with > 25% pasture and/or cropland *

16. CULTURE & COMMUNITY KNOWLEDGE Culturally Rich Papua New Guinea Nigeria Cameroon Bio – Culturally Rich Brazil Mexico Indonesia India Australia Zaire Biodiversity Rich Peru Malaysia Columbia Equator China Madagascar Bio – Culturally Rich Brazil Mexico Indonesia India Australia Zaire

17. Interaction between culture and ecology developed locale specific systems of knowledge with comparable parallels

19. Latex trees, pastoral communities and milk Myths, Ecology and Culture Surrogates – Vanni tree, fire and Shiva

20. Culture and Conservation Sacred groves

26. Tinai or Global Culture Capsicum Tomato Potato

27. Special Economic Zones Culture, Development and Ecology

28. Thank you