Climate change threatens centuries-old cultural practices too, says IIT-M prof
koraga community
— a marginalized tribe from coastal Karnataka — is fading due to climate change, said Deepak Paramashivan, assistant professor from the department of humanities and social sciences,
IIT Madras
.
Reduced rainfall, rising temperature, and shoreline erosion deeply affected the koragas' way of life, he said at the World Intellectual Property Day tech talk held at IIT Madras on Saturday. Their traditional instruments — the dolu, cande, tala, and kolalu — require specific types of wood, such as Indian kino and jackfruit trees which are now harder to find due to deforestation and climate change, he said.
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"Climate change remains a distant and confusing concept for communities such as the koragas, even though they face its harshest effects," Paramashivan said. Restrictions on forest produce made it even more difficult for tribal people to make and maintain their musical instruments, some of which lasted for more than 200 years. He said that climate change threatens not just the environment, but also centuries-old cultural practices.
On the sidelines of the event, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti who spoke to the media, said the institute has incubated more than 100 deep-tech startups in 2024.
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