The north-east region of India is home to over 100 tribal communities (total population 31 million); its 260,000 sq.km land area accounts for 7.8% of all India. Ail the traditional societies are intimately dependent on the natural resources. 'Jhum' (shifting cultivation) is the predominant land use and economic activity. This practice aims at maintaining high crop diversity, achieving food security through utilising locally available organic resources for sustained yields, and cooperation/social integration at a local scale (Ramakrishnan 1993). Jhum was a sustainable practice in the past due to transfer of resources within and between different human managed systems, as well as within and between the village ecosystem and the natural forest systems.Unfortunately the recent rapid depletion of natural resources has remarkably reduced the productivity of the land. Due to their low socioeconomic status, the indigenous people are not in position to accept high quality technologies for land use development. Furthermore, the imported technologies require high inputs, and thus do not receive local attention. The government policies seek to discourage jhuming in the region, and thus the whole Jhum system is marginalised.
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