Probable Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Sites in India. XVIII. The Cauvery Region

The region drained by the Cauvery (Kaveri) river, particularly the delta area, falling in the state of Tamil Nadu, is an agriculturally important region where agriculture has been practiced from ancient times involving the majority of the local tribes and communities. The delta area of the river has been described as one of the most fertile regions of the country, often referred as the ‘Garden of South India’. Similarly, the river Cauvery is called the ‘Ganges of the South’. The region is a unique example of the knowledge and skills practiced by the local communities in river and water management with the construction of a series of dams for fl ood control, and the establishment of a network of irrigation systems to facilitate roundthe-year highly productive cultivation of rice and other crops. Also, the region has developed internationally recognized sustainable systems with a conservational approach towards livestock rearing in semi-arid areas and fi shing in the coastal areas of the region. In the process of these developments, the local tribes and communities have evolved and conserved a wide range of genetic diversity in drought-tolerant crops like minor millets and water-loving crops like rice that has been used internationally. In recognition of these contributions, the region is being proposed as another National Agricultural Biodiversity Heritage Site based on indices used for the identifi cation of such sites. The present paper discusses a representative set of contributions from the region in various fi elds of agriculture.