New Delhi, 18 August, 2010:- Shri Murli Deora, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas launched a coffee table book titled Conservation: Lessons from Tradition during the 27th Foundation Day Function of GAIL (India) Limited held in New Delhi. This prestigious book on the traditional ways of preserving environment is published by Bombay Natural History Society and presented by GAIL (India) Limited is an attempt to compile different elements of nature including the rare and varied flora and fauna which have co-existed down the ages in a harmonious and congenial manner including the stories of various indigenous communities who have traditionally developed strategies of conserving and managing nature and natural resources.

Written by Mr. Sujoy Monga, the book documents a few success stories of effective ways of nature preservation taken up by communities by bringing into the foreground the often neglected traditional ways of conservation. The book entails various indigenous examples of nature conservation in subjects as wide ranging as Agriculture and Organic Farming, Ethnobotany to habitat protection, sacred groves and water management and conservation. This book gives information about how different regions of the country have been applying ancient knowledge which can be applied even today. The book is an effort in nature conservation striving to achieve the first step that is imperative to bring about any change – awareness. This book also captures some of the conservation practices followed by local people for protecting several delicate ecosystems and threatened species, the explicit connections that they show between cultural and biological diversity, and their potential of people oriented conservation efforts. Good community development practices and participatory methods are essential tools in the micro- enterprise and the environment protection.

Shri Murli Deora, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas releasing the Coffee Table book – Conservation: Lessons from Tradition along with Shri B C Tripathi Chairman and Managing Director, GAIL (India ) Limited