Synopsis The present book is the outcome of a study and a workshop organised by the MSSRF at the instance of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The book contains a survey of the available literature on this subject and includes case studies conducted in different parts of the country. The case studies were made possible by generous support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) and the Swedish International Development Co-operation Agency (SIDA). The book indicates methods of strengthening research on the gender dimensions of biodiversity management. It also emphasises the urgent need for the revitalisation of the in-situ on-farm conservation traditions of tribal and rural women in the area of biodiversity conservation. The book reveals how rural and tribal families are conserving genetic wealth of inestimable value for public good at personal cost. It reinforces the importance of implementing the equity provisions of CBD at the national and global levels for access and benefit sharing, so that the present ironic situation in which the primary conservers live in poverty, while those who utilise their material and knowledge become rich, can be ended.