Wild edible plants play an important role in the food of the communities living in Goa. While they form a significant portion of the cuisine in different seasons, they often remain undocumented. These biological resources are vanishing fast due to rapid urbanisation, and with them the associated traditional ecological knowledge.
To counter this trend and to popularise some of the common wild edibles of Goa, ICLEI South Asia has developed a pictorial pocketbook as part of the Integrated sub-national action for biodiversity: Supporting implementation of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans through the mainstreaming of biodiversity objectives across city regions (INTERACT-Bio) Project, supported by Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU). The book documents the uses of plants with local names such as Gollchi Bhaji, Kamal, Fagla, Chafra, and several others. The recipes of these comprise an important aspect of the traditional knowledge that communities possess.
The project aims to strengthen the integration of biodiversity management at all levels of governance and facilitate cooperation between national and subnational authorities for ecosystem management in urban regions. The handbook is an attempt to bring back the focus on wild edibles and their significance.