Our solutions are in nature

Nature’s gifts: A man holds yartsa gunbu aloft in a collection site in Bajhang, Nepal. The caterpillar fungus is found across the Himalayan highlands and is highly prized for its medicinal properties and economic value. (Photo: Jitendra Raj Bajracharya/ICIMOD)

“Nature holds the key to our aesthetic, intellectual, cognitive, and even spiritual satisfaction.” – Edward Osborne Wilson

In the Hindu epic Ramayana, Hanuman, the divine monkey god, rushes to the Himalaya to fetch a medicinal herb to save Lakshmana’s life. Hanuman carries back an entire mountain full of medicinal herbs, among them the Sanjeevani plant, which saves Lakshmana from certain death. Ramayana as it turns out has for centuries – along with folklores, mythical stories, traditional beliefs, and cultures around the globe – been showing us the value of nature not only for sustaining life but also for the solutions it provides to complex problems and uncertainties. International Biodiversity Day 2020 is being celebrated under the theme “Our solutions are in nature”, and provides the perfect opportunity for us to reflect on, value, and sustainably utilize the restorative and replenishing power of nature.