摘要: Justification of Outstanding Universal Value　　Related to the Apatani cultural tradition/civilization:　　The Apatanis, the tribe inhabiting Ziro valley are known for their effective traditional village

Justification of Outstanding Universal Value

　　Related to the Apatani cultural tradition/civilization:

　　The Apatanis, the tribe inhabiting Ziro valley are known for their effective traditional village council called bulyañ, which supervises, guides and have legal oversight over the activities of individuals that affect the community as a whole. They work by addressing to the conscience of the people rather than by instilling fear of the law, and by promoting prevention of unlawful activities rather than by punitive actions. Preservation of such an effective socio-legal system is of special value when the formal justice systems of modern times have often come up for criticism.

　　The Apatanis are among the few tribes in the world who continue to worship nature. It is their relation with nature that regulates their cultural practices. All the traditional festivals are, in a way, celebration of nature. Such a system designed for nature, culture and man to mutually support each other has timeless universal value.

　　The traditional customs and practices of the Apatanis are crucial for maintaining sustainable system that exists today. The established system to approach any important issue of the society as voluntary groups is the foundation of these practices. This arrangement ensures participation of each member in community works and fosters strong sense of ownership. At a time when the world of social science is struggling with ways to mobilize community involvement in developmental works, the system followed at Ziro Valley has immense universal value.

　　Practices of agro-forestry in Ziro valley with definite areas as grazing ground, sacred groves, plantations areas, etc. has helped optimal utilization of limited land to produce various resources while sustaining agriculture with improved yields. Such traditional ecological knowledge has special value in today’s world.

　　Availability of irrigation water, making wet rice cultivation possible at Ziro, is due to efficient conservation of the forests around the valley, which forms the crucial watershed for the streamlets flowing down the fields. This is possible due to strict customary laws governing utilization of forest resource and hunting practices. Traditional reverence for nature play significant roles. Such practices are of immense value in a world where blatant exploitation of nature is a major concern.

　　The traditional relations with fellow tribesmen of other villages (biiniiñ ajiñ) and with other neighboring tribes (manyañ) are unique among the Apatanis. Duties towards such relations are considered sacred. At a time when the world is seen to be falling apart and individualism threatens to break the fabric of the society, such veneration of human relations is of universal value.

　　Related to traditional human settlement and land-use:

　　The Apatanis are known for their judicious utilization of limited land area that evolved out of century old experimentation. There are separate areas for human settlement, wet rice cultivation, dry cultivation, community burial grounds, pine and bamboo gardens, private plantations and community forests. It is an example of highly successful human adaptation mechanism to the rigor and constraints of upland regions and so of outstanding universal value.

　　Traditional practices of harvesting forest resources of the tribal people, well known for its sustainability but fast dwindling in other parts of the world, are still seen among the Apatanis. Continued existence of strong customary laws and spiritual beliefs has kept these practices alive. While even stringent regulations often fail to enforce such practices, the Apatani traditions have not only helped man optimally harvest the resources in the forest, but also have helped their effective conservation. They are of universal value as they set examples of sustainable management of natural resources.

　　The wet rice cultivation system at Ziro Valley is extensive, especially when compared to the surrounding tribal regions, where shifting cultivation is practiced. In spite of limited water resources the entire expanse of the cultivated area in the valley is well watered by a network of meticulously engineered irrigation channels. Such an ingenious traditional system sets valuable example, especially in the face of impending global warming and threats of water scarcity all over the world.

　　Criterion (iii): Ziro Valley bears exceptional testimony to the cultural traditions of the Apatani tribe that is responsible for maintaining the landscape more or less in the same state for centuries together. It is largely the strong traditional institutions, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs that have guided the Apatanis in their characteristic wet rice cultivation and management of other natural resources.

　　Criterion (v): The settlement pattern of the Apatanis in the Ziro Valley is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement in an upland area and of the fact that man’s incessant struggle for survival makes it possible to make even most adverse environment habitable. The way the Apatanis have brought Ziro Valley to the present status is representative of their culture and belief systems that have been the guiding principle of all their activities. These systems themselves are examples of how they evolve out of interaction between man and environment. With globalization, ideological onslaught from outside the area, and subsequent changing values in the society, these systems are under serious threat. Though they have demonstrated its ability to adapt to the changing world, subtle changes are taking place, which has the potential to disrupt the very fabric of the system unless appropriate actions are taken in time.