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Economic gain apropos socio-ecological pain: expansion of plantation crops in biocultural jhumscape of North East India


Affiliations
1 College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India
2 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur 278 002, India
3 College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India
 

North East India is a biodiversity-rich zone and a part of both the Himalaya and Indo-Burma biodiversity hot-spots. It is a large-scale multipurpose landscape consisting of a mosaic of crops, livestock and forest. The landscape also ensures almost all the ecosystem services that con-tribute to the well-being of more than 100 diverse ethnic groups (indigenous people) in the region. However, in recent years, rapid transition in the form of promotion and expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations as mooted and supported by the state has posed threats to the ecosystem and biodiversity especially the biocultural landscapes. Supported by empirical evidence (primary and secondary data), this study argues that as we increase the intensity of production or harvest of such crops, the environmental cost becomes unprecedented and immense to be offset by economic gain. The use of renewable bio-logical resources as the foundation for a bioeconomy must be regulated in terms of environmental impact ra-ther than short-term financial dividends. Therefore, we need to develop optimization models for the biocultural landscape(s) that determine land use based on what is both economically and environmentally optimal.



Keywords

Bioeconomy, food security, jhum, multipur-pose landscape, plantations crops.
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  • Economic gain apropos socio-ecological pain: expansion of plantation crops in biocultural jhumscape of North East India

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Authors

D. K. Pandey
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India
Shantanu Kumar Dubey
ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur 278 002, India
A. K. Tripathi
College of Agriculture, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India
Barun Singh
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India
B. N. Hazarika
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University (Imphal), Pasighat 791 102, India

Abstract


North East India is a biodiversity-rich zone and a part of both the Himalaya and Indo-Burma biodiversity hot-spots. It is a large-scale multipurpose landscape consisting of a mosaic of crops, livestock and forest. The landscape also ensures almost all the ecosystem services that con-tribute to the well-being of more than 100 diverse ethnic groups (indigenous people) in the region. However, in recent years, rapid transition in the form of promotion and expansion of oil palm and rubber plantations as mooted and supported by the state has posed threats to the ecosystem and biodiversity especially the biocultural landscapes. Supported by empirical evidence (primary and secondary data), this study argues that as we increase the intensity of production or harvest of such crops, the environmental cost becomes unprecedented and immense to be offset by economic gain. The use of renewable bio-logical resources as the foundation for a bioeconomy must be regulated in terms of environmental impact ra-ther than short-term financial dividends. Therefore, we need to develop optimization models for the biocultural landscape(s) that determine land use based on what is both economically and environmentally optimal.



Keywords


Bioeconomy, food security, jhum, multipur-pose landscape, plantations crops.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv123%2Fi6%2F767-771