AR1998-1999.Pdf

1 2 3 4 Front Cover First ever primary school for Imla children in a mangrove hamlet, MGR Nagar near Chidambaram. 2 Culture of Azalia in the field trenches: green manure for lowland rice culture. Keelamanakudi, Chidambaram. 3 Selection by a tribal young woman of earheads of Italian millet at Binnampatti village in Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu. 4 Dry leaves of Bauhinia vahlii Wight & Am. used as a rain coat by a tribal woman in Jeypore, Orissa. r 1 2 4 3 Back Cover Members of the Malayali tribal community discussing the use of remote sensing data for biodiversity conservation. Kolli Hills, Tamil Nadu. 2 Kulavai '99 - theatre for networking on gender, social issues and cultural activism. 3 A group of women volunteers who manage the Village Knowledge Centre at Embalam, Pondicherry . 4 A successful woman prJctitioner of mushroom cultivation imparting training to other women at the Biocentre in Pillayarkuppam village, Pondicherry. ~f i(1" MS$~ l=I a...~lI\f\t.4.. M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation Centre for Research on Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development Third Cross Road, Institutional Area, Taramani, Chennai 600 113, India. Telephone +91 (44) 2351229 +91 (44) 2351698 Fax +91 (44) 2351319 E-mail [email protected] Visit us on the World Wide Web at http://www.mssrf.org Cover Design : The Frontline, Chennai Printed at : Reliance Printers, Chennai Citation : Ninth Annual Report : 1998-99 M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, Chennai, 1999. " v4~J ,.All s s R. f I e.t..e.", I'\.~ • Table of Contents Introduction 2 Programme Area 100 Coastal Systems Research...... 16 Programme Area 200 Biodiversity and Biotechnology 39 Programme Area 300 Ecotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture 94 Programme Area 400 Reaching the Unreached 148 Programme Area 500 Education, Communication, Training and Capacity Building 167 Programme Area 600 Special Projects ;; ;........ 190 Publications. 197 About the Foundation 205 The Foundation Staff 209 List of Donors 218 Sources of Project Support ~............... 219 Chairman's Introduction The 20th century will soon end with remark- production and security indicate that able achievements in every area of science progress in overcoming chronic social ills can and technology. In addition to impressive be rapid, provided appropriate blends of progress in physical and life sciences, we political will and action, social mobilisation, are ending this century with significant ac- and technology development and dissemi- complishments in social evolution. Particu- nation can be promoted. It is to foster such lar attention may be drawn to the follow- a movement at both the macro- and micro- ing: levels that the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) began its work ten • End of colonialism and spread of demo- years ago in the areas of strategic, participa- cratic systems of governance tory and anticipatory research, education • Growth of free and independent media and training, human resource development, information and skill empowerment, net- • Emphasis on human rights including the working, policy advocacy and dialogues. rights of the generations yet to be born The research and commUnity development programmes of MSSRF were built on a pro- • Eclipse of skin-colour based apartheid nature, pro-poor and pro-women foundation • National and International movements with a view to ensuring that development for gender equity and justice is not only environmentally sustainable but also socially equitable. Thanks to the knowledge and information revolution, there are now uncommon oppor- Nearly 2000 scientists from all parts of the tunities for providing every child, woman earth, who participated at a World Confer- and man with an opportunity for a produc- ence on Science convened by UNESCO and the International Council for Science (ICSU) tive and healthy life during the 21sl century. Accomplishing this task will not however at Budapest, Hungary, from 26 June to 1 July, be easy, since economic, social and gender 1999, adopted a declaration which points the inequity are not only widespread but also way to mobilising science and technology increasing. According to UNDP's Human for meeting the basic needs of every single Development Report (1999), the richest 200 member of the human family. The Budapest people in the world have a net worth of $ Declaration on Science and the Use of Sci- 1032 billion, the equivalent of the wealth of entific Knowledge states, "We all live on the 41% of the global population. A yearly con- same planet and are part of the biosphere. tribution of 1 percent of their wealth by these ,We have come to recognise that we are in a 200 persons alone would be adequate to give situation of increasing inter-dependence and every child in the world free access to pri- that our' future is intrinsically linked to the mary education. preservation of the global life-support systems and to the survival of all forms of life. Achievements during this century in im- Science should be at the service of human- proving human health and longevity, food ity as a whole, and should contribute to 2 Chairman's Introduction providing everyone with a deeper under- velop some basic ground rules for ensuring standing of nature and society, a better qual- that science serves public good in an era of ity of life and a sustainable and healthy expanding IPR. Such a paradigm shift from environment for present. and future genera- a materialistic to a humanistic scientific era tions". will call for international cooperation in adopting a package of measures such as the The Declaration further states, "Science and following: Technology should be resolutely directed towards prospects for better employment, • Enhance support from public funds for improving competitiveness and social jus- research relating to basic human needs tice". The Declaration calls for special atten- and environment protection. tion to the expansion of scientific literacy • Make a distinction between discovery and skills among women and families liv- and invention with reference to patenting in poverty. ability. For example, make patenting of The Science Agenda-Framework for Action, DNA sequences in human and plant adopted at Budapest calls for scientific ad- genomes ineligible. vice becoming an essential factor in informed • Introduce compulsory licensing of rights policy making. It also recommends that "all in the case of patents of relevance to the countries should protect intellectual prop- food and health security of the poor and erty rights (IPR) and recognise that access the ecological security of the planet. to data and information is essential for scientific progress". • Reduce the life span of patents particu- larly in the field of information technol- Thus, the World Conference on Science, ogy. while recognising the need for greater ef- • Revise the Trade-Related Intellectual forts in harnessing science for meeting basic Property Systems (TRIPS) component of human needs, also notes that the expansion the World Trade Agreement so as to har- of IPR-eontrolled science is inevitable. Pro- monise the provisions of Article 27.3 (b) prietary science is expanding and research with those of the ethics and equity pro- designed for public good and supported by visions of the Convention on Biological public funds is shrinking. The earlier slo- Diversity (Articles 8(j) and 15 of CBD). gan, "publish or perish" is getting replaced Such a revision of TRIPS will help to by a new one, "patent or perish". The veil foster symbiotic biopartnerships and of secrecy in scientific work is getting rap- eliminate fears of biopiracy. idly enlarged. The scientific problems relating to the health and livelihoods of the poor • Incorporate in the World Trade Agree- may tend to get neglected under a market- ment a provision which enables member driven scientific regime, where orphans are nations to adopt import policies which likely to remain orphans. will enhance and not erode the livelihood security of the poor. As a follow-up to the Budapest Conference, it is necessary for every nation and for the For assisting governments to ensure that international scientific community to de- trade and development policies result in en- 3 Annual Report 1998-99 hancing ecological security and livelihood of Conduct was also developed to ensure opportunities for women and men living in that symbiotic biopartnerships, and not poverty, a World Trade Agreement Contract biopiracy, govern the relationships h~tween Facilitation Service comprising social scien- the primary conservers and holders of tists, gender specialists, environmental and knowledge and the commercial companies, employment experts should be established. who use their knowledge and material. A Such an independent contract facilitation consultation was organised in September '98 service should be mandated to assist in con- to assist the World Intellectual Property Or- verting the "trade and not aid" concept ganization (WIPO) in developing methods of poverty alleviation from rhetoric to real- for recognising and rewarding traditional ity. knowledge, innovations and culture. If such steps are taken, conservation and commer- An ecology of hope movement will become cialisation can become mutually reinforcing. a reality only if principles of ethics and equity govern all areas of human endeavour. Article 27.3(b) of the TRIPS provision of the Nowhere is this more apparent than in the World Trade Agreement will be reviewed field of life science industries. For example, late in 1999. MSSRF has been actively advo- what we now refer to as "medicinal plants" cating that the ethics and equity clauses of are the products of observation, selection and the Convention on Biological Diversity conservation by tribal and rural families over (CBD) (Articles 3, 8j, 10, 15 and 16) should several centuries. Yet these primary conserv- guide the review process. If this is not done, ers of material and holders of knowledge the following objectives stated in Article 7 live in poverty, while those who use their of the TRIPS agreement cannot be achieved: knowledge and material in breeding and "The protection and enforcement of intel- biotechnological enterprises become rich.

Load more