The Bisnois are a tribal community, presently spread over the western parts of Rajasthan and parts of Haryana and Punjab. The Bisnois derive their name from the 29 principles laid down by their spiritual father, Guru Jambeshwarji, who initiated this environmental-friendly religion in 1542 AD. The basic philosophy of the Bishnoi religion is that, all living things (including animals) have a right to survive and share resources. 
The Bisnois are a present day example of a community which lives in harmony with its environment, with a nature centered co-existence motivated in preserving the Bio-diversity of its environment. Their villages are marked by the presence of trees and other vegetation, and herds of antelopes roaming freely near their homes. Their fields are ploughed with simple ploughs using bullocks or camels, thus limiting the damage caused to their fragile desert eco-system to a minimum. The Bisnois live an efficient life, storing rainwater in underground tanks and using cow-dung flakes for their cooking.
The Bisnois’ have a religious affinity of the Khejiri tree, with one of their most famous preservation efforts being the story of Amrita Devi, and 366 other Bisnois who sacrificed their lives in order to save the Khejiri trees from being chopped down for construction purpose by the then King of Jodhpur over two centuries ago. In recent times, they are known for their association with the Chipko movement, to protests the felling of trees in the Himalayan forests of Uttar Pradesh.
In our present day world, small rural communities like the Bisnois that live for the conservation and sustenance of their environment are hard to come by. Although the principles that the Bisnois live by promotes the longevity of all species, it is neither practical nor feasible for the entire world to adopt such a lifestyle. This is because we humans have already crossed the threshold for a sustainable and stable environment, and are now threatening the existence of many other species of both plants and animals for our own survival.
The dominance of man and his hunger for power and other resources is a recipe that will lead to dire consequences for all living species on Earth. Hopefully with improving technology and increasing environmental awareness among the public as well as the governing institutions, we can hope to reduce or mitigate the costs of our past endeavours, and hope that the future generations will still have a well balanced and a functional eco-system to live in.
