English - Convention on Biological Diversity

• Health and well being of rural communicatesRural healthSri Lanka is an example of a low income country that has achieved remarkable progress in health andsocial development (MDG, 2005) The Government’s emphasis on social development has given priority to health andschooling for both males and females, which in turn this has increased individual demand for health care services. Theextensive network of health facilities throughout the country have also contributed towards low maternal and infantmortality (chapter 1), with the exception of the North and East where there was civil strife. In most rural areas healthcare of some sort is available within 1.4 kilometers from most homes and, on average, free state provided allopathichealth care is available within 4.8 kilometers. Medical officers are available in rural hospitals, while services ofspecialist pediatricians are available at the level of base hospitals and above.The indigenous system of medicine termed Ayurveda is practised by a large number (18651) of licensed privatepractitioners (CB, 2007) who sometimes have a degree from an Ayurvedic university. All practise healing through theuse of herbal medicines. Rural communities also practise a parallel curative system based on supernatural beliefs andsuperstitions. These cures include traditional exorcising ceremonies and rituals to appease demons, gods and lesserspirits. There are also simple village practices to ward off the "evil eye" and "evil mouth" that are attributed to be thecause of many ailments. Charms (mantara) and simple curative practices (kem) are also popular among village peopleto ward off various illnesses, many of which require plant material from forests and home gardens (IUCN, 1995).Rural sanitationAlthough most rural areas in Sri Lanka have a relatively unpolluted environment, the shallow unprotected wells,irrigation tanks and other water bodies that are used for drinking and bathing in rural areas are polluted with excesschemical fertiliser and pesticides runoff from cultivated lands and faecal matter due to poor sanitation (MoENR,2002).The National Water Supply and Drainage Board has targeted the supply of safe water to the entire population at85% for 2010 and 100% achievement by 2025.FOCAL AREA: PROTECT TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, INNOVATIONS AND PRACTICESGoal 9 Maintain socio-cultural diversity of indigenous and local communitiesGlobal target9.1. Protect traditional knowledge, innovations and practices.9.2. Protect the rights of indigenous and local communities over their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices,including their rights to benefit-sharing.National targets (source: Derived from NCSA biodiversity thematic report, 2007:• Establishment of a metadatabase of holders of traditional knowledge (i.e. genuine knowledge holders). associatedwith medicinal, curative and other purposes such as agriculture and livestock improvement. 2• Traditional knowledge holders are apprised of their rights within an ABS regimes and about IPR issues. 1• Explore and use alternative methods for protecting traditional knowledge rather than archiving them in databases(i.e. assisting traditional knowledge holders to pass down their knowledge through the oral tradition to a pupil oftheir choice). 2• Well formulated effective legislation for archiving and safeguarding indigenous knowledge.Focal Area Global Indicators Additional National indicatorsStatus of traditionalknowledge, innovationsand PracticesStatus and trends of linguistic diversity andnumbers of speakers of indigenous languages.• Meta database of traditionalknowledge holders relevant to theuse of components of biodiversity. 1• Mechanisms for archiving traditionalknowledge relating to biodiversity inthe public domain. 2• Alternative to archiving traditionalknowledge not in the public domaindeveloped. 2Fourth National Report to the CBD: Sri Lanka 101