The Role of Cultural Values in Agrobiodiversity Conservation: A Case Study from Uttarakhand, Himalaya

Abstract

The role of socio-cultural values in biodiversity conservation is an integral part of the people living in Uttarakhand, Central Himalaya, India. Still, there exist many rules and regulations set up by earlier generations for the conservation and management of the resources. To a certain extent the present generation is going through the same philosophy following the ideas set up by their ancestors for conservation and management of the resources that would lead to a healthy environment. Due to a variety of reasons the area under traditional crops is declining very fast in the region but undoubtedly many of the crop varieties are still conserved in the region because of their socio-cultural and religious values. The traditional festival called Harela is one the festivals in Uttarakhand which encourages people to conserve and manage their traditional crop diversity. These kinds of activities of the people need to be emphasized in detail, keeping in view the rapid socio-economic and cultural changes taking place in the societies.