In an era of a rapidly shrinking biological resources, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a historic landmark, being the first global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The CBD is one of the few international agreements in the area of natural resource conservation in which sustainability and equitable benefit-sharing are central concerns.

There is an increasing interest in community-based forest management as a potential approch for improving forest governance. India is among the few countries in the world where such an approach - called Joint Forest Management (JFM)-has not only been successfully introduced but also achieved large-scale implementation, covering 18% of all state forests.

To most Indians, turmeric or haldi is a part of growing up, a magic cure-all for the excesses of childhood. A classic "grandmother's remedy", the virulent yellow powder or paste has been applied to the scrapes and cuts of generations of children. But in the US, two scientists were granted a patent to use this plant extract in its powder form for healing wounds. The scientists claimed they were the first to use turmeric (Curcuma longa) for this purpose.