Innovations and Technology: An Economic Analysis of their Contribution in Managing Natural Resources for Sustainable Development

The paper has studied the role of technology and innovations in managing natural resources for a sustainable development and has covered the following aspects: conservation technologies and sustainable agriculture, integrated vegetation management, local vegetation management, farm biodiversity, traditional knowledge on biodiversity conservation, low intensity agriculture and green agenda in agriculture. The paper has argued that along with science, local technologies and traditional knowledge systems such as ethno forestry have an important role in biodiversity conservation and sustainability. In the rural areas, the women who take active part in natural resource management including agriculture and forestry, develop repositories of traditional/local knowledge that is continuously applied, tested and improved over time. The study has suggested that the National Biological Diversity Act of India should devise operational mechanisms to share benefits of commercial applications of traditional knowledge on biodiversity with local communities.