Declare NEEM as the ‘NATIONAL HERITAGE TREE of INDIA’
The Issue
Date: 20/ 04/ 2016
To,
The Chairman
National Board for wildlife,
7 Race Course Road,
Govt. of India,
New Delhi
Respected Shri Modi,
Sub: Declaring NEEM as the ‘NATIONAL HERITAGE TREE of INDIA’
The Neem Foundation taken up the challenge of bringing recognition to the Neem tree, which has recently found a brand new application as Urea Coating, which will result in substantial saving to the exchequer.
On behalf of a billion + Indians who admire the Neem Tree. I urge the Govt. of India to consider making ‘Neem the National Heritage Tree’.
The Neem Foundation which was established in 1993 - to promote the grand old Neem Tree – Azadirachta indica as a sustainable solution for global ecological and health concerns. Besides running a state of the art research & technology development centre in Maharashtra, it has held three World Neem Conferences. Enclosed please find some publications of the Foundation to give you the scope of our activities.
You will agree that the grand old tree of the Indian countryside, the Neem tree embodies the spirit of National integration and encompasses commonality of Indian ethos. The Neem is a revered symbol of the Great Indian Civilization like the Ganga, Peacock, Tiger, Mango, Lotus, Himalayas and the Vedas. The Neem tree’s commercial, agricultural and therapeutic uses in India date back to the Vedic times. The various uses of this wonder tree are representative of traditional Indian knowledge and customary practices.
There is a broad genetic base of this tree in the country, of the area under Neem Plantation globally, about 60% is in India, which needs recognition and protection.
There is now an urgency to officially declare Neem as the National Tree since the western world is on the prowl to economically exploit traditional knowledge, cultural secrets and native practices that have become an ingrained apart of the third world cultivation. For generations Indians have been satisfied with the benefits reaped by the use of the various parts of the tree and evidence of its benefits justify its use. It is in of the wake the greed for commercial exploitation and in the wave of the importance of exclusive rights to intellectual properties, we Indians stand vulnerable to losing what has traditionally been enjoyed by generations of Indians.
The botanical genetic diversity prominent among them being neem, which we Indians have enjoyed will be acknowledged by the world to be the traditional property of Indians only when the Neem Tree is declared as the ‘National Heritage Tree of India’.
We seek your personal intervention and support on this issue to declare Azadirachta - indica as the ‘National Heritage Tree of India’. I, along with a delegation of dignitaries from the Neem movement would be happy to further appraise you on this issue at your convenience, if so required. Please let us know.
We are sure that it will be done once you have gone through the merits of the case. We shall await your support on this issue and humbly suggest that the declaration be done on the 5th of June 2016, which is the World Environment day, would be an appropriate day.
Yours sincerely,
Waheeda Rehman
Ambassador
The Issue
Date: 20/ 04/ 2016
To,
The Chairman
National Board for wildlife,
7 Race Course Road,
Govt. of India,
New Delhi
Respected Shri Modi,
Sub: Declaring NEEM as the ‘NATIONAL HERITAGE TREE of INDIA’
The Neem Foundation taken up the challenge of bringing recognition to the Neem tree, which has recently found a brand new application as Urea Coating, which will result in substantial saving to the exchequer.
On behalf of a billion + Indians who admire the Neem Tree. I urge the Govt. of India to consider making ‘Neem the National Heritage Tree’.
The Neem Foundation which was established in 1993 - to promote the grand old Neem Tree – Azadirachta indica as a sustainable solution for global ecological and health concerns. Besides running a state of the art research & technology development centre in Maharashtra, it has held three World Neem Conferences. Enclosed please find some publications of the Foundation to give you the scope of our activities.
You will agree that the grand old tree of the Indian countryside, the Neem tree embodies the spirit of National integration and encompasses commonality of Indian ethos. The Neem is a revered symbol of the Great Indian Civilization like the Ganga, Peacock, Tiger, Mango, Lotus, Himalayas and the Vedas. The Neem tree’s commercial, agricultural and therapeutic uses in India date back to the Vedic times. The various uses of this wonder tree are representative of traditional Indian knowledge and customary practices.
There is a broad genetic base of this tree in the country, of the area under Neem Plantation globally, about 60% is in India, which needs recognition and protection.
There is now an urgency to officially declare Neem as the National Tree since the western world is on the prowl to economically exploit traditional knowledge, cultural secrets and native practices that have become an ingrained apart of the third world cultivation. For generations Indians have been satisfied with the benefits reaped by the use of the various parts of the tree and evidence of its benefits justify its use. It is in of the wake the greed for commercial exploitation and in the wave of the importance of exclusive rights to intellectual properties, we Indians stand vulnerable to losing what has traditionally been enjoyed by generations of Indians.
The botanical genetic diversity prominent among them being neem, which we Indians have enjoyed will be acknowledged by the world to be the traditional property of Indians only when the Neem Tree is declared as the ‘National Heritage Tree of India’.
We seek your personal intervention and support on this issue to declare Azadirachta - indica as the ‘National Heritage Tree of India’. I, along with a delegation of dignitaries from the Neem movement would be happy to further appraise you on this issue at your convenience, if so required. Please let us know.
We are sure that it will be done once you have gone through the merits of the case. We shall await your support on this issue and humbly suggest that the declaration be done on the 5th of June 2016, which is the World Environment day, would be an appropriate day.
Yours sincerely,
Waheeda Rehman
Ambassador
The Decision Makers
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Petition created on 9 May 2016