India readies global norms for its traditional medicines

• November 29, 2023

Source: Mint

India is developing international standards for its traditional system of medicines, aiming to gain global recognition and market access to 150 countries, secretary, ministry of Ayush, Mr Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha said on 29 November 2023. The ministry, through BIS, is currently setting up a technical committee for Ayush within ISO. The government is also encouraging all Ayush facilities to obtain National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH) accreditation and for labs to obtain National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accreditation. The Ayush educational institutes are also being promoted to obtain National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) accreditation, the secretary said.

Gold Medal to Ministry of Ayush for excellent performance in ‘India International Trade Fair’

• November 28, 2023

Source: Press Information Bureau

The Ministry of Ayush has been awarded the Gold Medal by the ‘India Trade Promotion Organization’ for its excellent performance in the ‘Ministries and Departments’ category of the Indian International Trade Fair. The Ministry had created an Ayush pavilion with various activities in the fair with the aim of promoting scientific evidence based Ayush treatment methods. Various curated activities and innovative presentations of the Ministry of Ayush were done by keeping scientific evidence based approach and became the centre of attraction for everyone. To promote Ayush-entrepreneurship, a total of 18 Ayush start-ups were given the opportunity by the Ministry of Ayush to exhibit with new products in the pavilion. Free Clinics of Ayush medical systems like Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy, Yoga-Naturopathy, Sowa-Rigpa were also facilitated in the Ayush Pavilion.

How Indigenous Knowledge Can Help Solve the Climate Crisis

• November 21, 2023

Source: Phys.org

As the world grapples with adapting to a warming planet, Indigenous Peoples are experiencing unique climate-related challenges exacerbated by centuries of having their land overtaken by settlers and governments. In the U.S., most Native tribes relocated to the country's least desirable lands, which have limited resources and infrastructure to buffer the impacts of climate change. In the Southwest, for instance, the Navajo Nation faces a severe water shortage as prolonged drought intensified by climate change further limits access to clean water. In Oklahoma, Cherokee's heirloom crops are becoming harder to grow, threatening their food security and cultural heritage.

For Indigenous Peoples, Language Is Life

• November 16, 2023

Source: Forbes

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous Nations across the country like mine began to feel it’s disproportionate impact on our communities. Then, we started losing the most precious resource, our elders. All of our teachings and knowledge are verbally transmitted. With every sentence, our elders share pieces of knowledge worth more than gold. Losing elders was incredibly scary. It meant potentially losing our cultures and languages. In response to this crisis, the Oceti Sakowin, made up of the Lakota and Dakota people, designated all language speakers as “essential workers” and gave them first access to vaccination. As a Dakota and Yaqui Indigenous student at Harvard Medical School, I recognized the brilliance in this unprecedented public health policy from our Nations.

CBD’s Geneva Meetings: Benefit Sharing on Traditional Knowledge & Digital Sequence Information on Agenda

• November 15, 2023

Source: Down To Earth

Delegates from different countries are gathered in Geneva to discuss crucial issues related to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its tenet on fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from genetic resources. 

The members are negotiating the terms of Article 8 (j) of CBD. This Article ensures that member countries respect, preserve and maintain knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and local communities used to conserve and sustainably use biological diversity. The Article also promotes the wider use of this knowledge, innovations and practices while ensuring equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use.

Climate Actions Centered on Indigenous Knowledge Can Improve Resilience

• November 15, 2023

Source: Phys.org

Climate change in HawaiÊ»i and the Pacific Islands worsens inequities and threatens unique island ecosystems, cultural resources, human health, livelihoods, the built environment, and access to clean water and healthy food. These are among the findings of the U.S. National Climate Assessment, released by the Biden Administration which involved five University of HawaiÊ»i at Mānoa researchers. The assessment concluded that adaptation actions centered on local and Indigenous knowledge can improve the resilience of Pacific Island communities.

First Research Hub at UMass Will Blend Western and Indigenous Knowledge to Address Environmental Issues

• November 15, 2023

Source: Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Indigenous methods of science focus on relational aspects between people and the environment, as well as relying on storytelling and oral history to pass down sustainable techniques that are important for climate change mitigation and cultural preservation.“We’ve made fantastic scientific progress, but we think that there’s room and value with this approach, and it’s timely to have this additional focus on community-based research,” Jon Woodruff, a professor of earth, geographic and climate sciences and co-lead said.To address these pressing challenges, CBIKS is composed of eight regional hubs, spanning across the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to partner with 57 Indigenous communities on issues such as climate change. Over 30 indigenous scholars from universities throughout the U.S. are part of the center.

New course: All about Indian knowledge system

• November 14, 2023

Source: Bangalore Mirror

The engineering students in the state may soon delve into the Indian knowledge system, as Visvesvaraya Technological University(VTU) has decided to introduce the same. The university's Executive Council, the highest decision-making body, recently passed a resolution to this effect. In a circular, Prof BE Rangaswamy, registrar of the university, stated,"The ability enhancement course has been replaced in the sixth semester with a course on the Indian knowledge system worth one credit.The traditional knowledge, philosophies, sciences, and cultural practices that have evolved overt housands of years in the Indian subcontinent make up the rich and varied Indian knowledge system.It covers a broad range of topics such as literatute, art, astronomy, yoga, philosophy,spirituality,mathematics, and medicine." The students will be taught an introduction to Indian knowledge systmes, an overview of the Vedic corpus, philosophy, character scope and importance, traditional knowledge vis-a-vis indigenous knowledge, and traditional knowledge versus western knowledge.The course outcomes will provide an overview of the concept of the Indian knowledge system and its importance, appreciate the need and importance of protecting traditional knowledge.

“Two Eyed Seeing”—Embracing Both Indigenous and Western Perspectives in Healthcare

• November 13, 2023

Source: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

One way to make healthcare more equitable and effective for Indigenous peoples is to incorporate their knowledge, beliefs, values, practices, medicines, and models of health and healing alongside those of western medicine in delivering healthcare. Known as “two eyed seeing,” this approach to healthcare sees from one eye with the strengths of Indigenous knowledge and ways of knowing, and from the other eye with the strengths of western knowledge, respectfully embracing both. Two eyed seeing acknowledges that Indigenous methods and treatments are as valid as those used in mainstream medicine, and it allows Indigenous peoples to be partners in their own healthcare

Leaning Into Indigenous Knowledge on Climate Change

• October 28, 2023

Source: Knowable Magazine

Today, anthropologists and climate researchers in Western institutions are increasingly turning to Indigenous people to ask what they have observed about the world around them. In the process, these scientists are learning that Indigenous communities have been cataloging, in their own way, data about change at a hyper-local level — insights that Westernised climate science might miss — and also how that change is affecting people.