This book presents the first empirically tested, comprehensive study on shifting cultivation in Mizoram. Shifting cultivation is a unique and centuries-old practice carried out by the people of Mizoram in Northeast India. Today, it is a non-economic activity as it does not produce sufficient crops, and as a result, the area under shifting cultivation is decreasing. Such cultivation leads to the burning and degradation of vast areas of forestland and therefore has adverse impacts on the floral and faunal resources. This book is a valuable resource for government workers, policymakers, academics, farmers and those who are directly or indirectly associated with practical farming, or with framing and implementing policies. It is equally important to master’s and Ph.D. students of geography, resource management, development, and environmental studies who are involved in research and development.

Shifting cultivation supports around 200 million people in the Asia-Pacific region alone. It is often regarded as a primitive and inefficient form of agriculture that destroys forests, causes soil erosion and robs lowland areas of water. These misconceptions and their policy implications need to be challenged. Swidden farming could support carbon sequestration and conservation of land, biodiversity and cultural heritage. This comprehensive analysis of past and present policy highlights successes and failures and emphasizes the importance of getting it right for the future. This book is enhanced with supplementary resources. The addendum chapters can be found at: www.cabi.org/openresources/91797

The last frontier: people and forests in Mizoram details the relationship between the people and their environment, and between the environment and development. It is set in Mizoram, one of the seven states of the ecologically complex north-eastern region, a land where society and culture present a fascinating blend of tradition and modernity whose history and polity varies from that of most other parts of India. The book traces the environmental history of Mizoram, beginning in the nineteenth century, through colonial rule and into the post-Independence period. It examines the nature of biophysical resources and the influence of human activities on them. Finally, the management of forests by people and the state is analysed, including a detailed discussion on the system of shifting cultivation. Table of Contents: List of figures List of tables Foreword by Dr T N Khoshoo Preface Introduction: The last frontier Part I: An environmental history of Mizoram Chapter 1: The regime of village republics Settlement in the Lushai hills The supremacy of the village chief Forests: abode of the spirits Shifting cultivation or jhum The influence of people on their environment Parameters of resource use Chapter 2: British occupation of the Lushai Hills Compulsions for conquest Economic importance of the Lushai Hills Instruments of insulation The system of administration The new socio-religious order Ecological implications of political events Chapter 3: Forests and fields: colonial land use policy State control over forests The system of commercial extraction of forest produce Revenue from forests The traders’ lobby Game versus vermin The continuance of shifting cultivation New farming methods The drift of public policy Chapter 4: The creation of Mizoram The route to self rule A limited taste of freedom The struggle for Independence From Union Territory to State Isolation, alienation, and regionalism Public participation in governance Legitimizing shifting cultivation Forests for the people Implications for resource use Chapter 5: The roots of environmental change Religion Education Community relations Growth and distribution of population Occupational mobility Urbanization Land use policies Part II: Management of resources: between people and the State Chapter 6: Physiography, land cover, and land use Geomorphology Land forms Climate Soils Types of vegetation cover Land use Chapter 7: Forests, their form and features The extent of forests Basic characteristics The quality of forest resources The wood and bamboo balance Chapter 8: Keepers of the forest The existence of village forest reserves Norms governing village forests Changes in area of village forests Availability of forest produce Control by the village council Imperatives of local management Forests in the hands of the State The incidence of encroachment Regulating commercial use of forests Afforestation programmes Imperatives of governmental management Chapter 9: How shifting cultivation works The element of collectivity Community management of shifting cultivation Preferred sites for j humming Allotment of jhum plots Clearing the forest Burning Sowing Weeding Harvesting The element of uncertainty Chapter 10: The tenacity of shifting cultivation The village scenario The dependence on shifting cultivation The duration of jhum cycles Levels of productivity Chapter 11: The environmental impact of shifting cultivation The post-jhum ecosystem Effect on biodiversity Climatic change due to deforestation Floods in the plains The role of fire - Soil erosion and run-off Sustainability of productivity Myth, conjecture, and reality Chapter 12: The new land use policy · A review of past strategies · The old New Land Use Policy · The Jhum Control Project · Changes in the New Land Use Policy · The alternative to shifting cultivation Conclusion: People and forests in Mizoram Appendices 1. Reserved tree species in the Lushai Hills 2. Domestic animals killed by wild animals in the North Lushai Hills as reported by village writers 3. The Lushai Hills District (Jhumming) Regulation, 1954 4. The Mizo District (Forest) Act, 1954 5. Socio-economic data of Mizoram 6. Agricultural statistics 7. Distribution of slope categories for select river catchments 8. Physical characteristics of soils in Mizoram 9. Tree species found in major forest types 10. Nature of slopes used in shifting cultivation 11. Percentage shares of land use categories in Mizoram 12. General characteristics of vegetation cover in Mizoram 13. Vegetation cover by strata 14. Growing stock per hectare by strata 15. Percentage distribution of stems per hectare by diameter class 16. Major species contributing to basal area in each stratum 17. Wood and bamboo consumption 18. The existence of village forest reserves 19. Changes in the extent of village forest reserves 20. Availability of trees and bamboos for domestic use 21. Detection of offences committed in safety and supply reserves 22. Revenue from forests 23. Carrying capacity of land under shifting cultivation: Mampui and Sairep village (1962) 24. Jhum cycles in Mizoram 25. Shifting cultivation in sample villages 26. Pattern of secondary succession after jhumming at Burnihat 27. Soil and water losses due to shifting cultivation 28. Farming systems research by ICAR RCNEHR (Shillong) at Burnihat: 1976-89 29. Rice production in Mizoram 30. Promising crops for cultivation in the north-eastern region References Index List of figures 1. The location of Mizoram and the north-eastern region in India 2. Territories occupied by Mizo tribes before the British rule 3. The location of places mentioned in chapter 2 and chapter 3 4. Mizoram: geology 5. Mizoram: rivers 6. Mizoram: soil nutrient status 7. Mizoram: forest reserves List of tables Revenue obtained from the hill areas of Eastern Bengal and Assam, 1903-04 Receipts from forests of the Lushai hills district (in rupees, annas, paise) Number of wild animals killed for which rewards were paid: 1943-44 to 1947-48 Percentage of literacy by sea Percentage distribution of total main workers * (approximate estimate based on 1991 census) Area under different categories of slope The pattern of land use in Mizoram (1987-89) Average soil loss and affected area (estimated for five catchments) Extent of vegetation cover in Mizoram (1975-76) Land use and land cover by thematic mapping (1989) District-wise extent of forest (1987-89) The extent of forests by different sources The extent of vegetation cover by type Growing stock of trees and bamboo by strata Species diversity of strata The legal status of forest Family labour involved in clearing forest Gross village income by source in Hmunpui (1964-65) Output-input ratios of cultivation Early succession at Burnihat and Sesawng Coverage of the New Land Use Policy

Contributed papers of a project initiated by the Anthropological Survey of India in 1976.

This book presents a socio-economic and livelihood analysis of agriculturally-dependent communities of Mizoram, the eastern extension of the Himalaya, using the sustainable livelihood approach. Such an approach to poverty reduction is inevitable, particularly, in areas where livelihoods depend largely on biomass-based agriculture and livestock production. Mizoram possesses abundant natural resources – land, water and forest – but those resources are largely unused. The region suffers from chronic poverty and malnutrition, and climate change has further influenced livelihood patterns. This work studies all the aspects of natural potentials and livelihood status in Mizoram. It also discusses the major driving forces that influence livelihood patterns. Based on a detailed analysis of empirical data, several policy measures are suggested to cope with chronic poverty and malnutrition. The book is therefore highly useful for all stakeholders; students, researchers, academicians, policy makers and politicians involved in rural/community development.

India’s northeastern region, forged by a unique geological history and peopled by several waves of migration, is extraordinarily complex. Farming systems in the hills and the riverine plains are embedded in a heterogeneous environment, comprising forests, wetlands and fields, shaped over centuries by nature and people. Today, the environment and economy are undergoing rapid transformation, affecting peoples’ lives, livelihoods and methods of food production. The essays in this volume bring a multi-disciplinary perspective to critical aspects of the process of agricultural change, examine the gender dimensions of agriculture, and explore initiatives for sustainable livelihood and ecological conservation. Part I analyses the impact of policies and people’s own aspirations on the closely-intertwined ecology and economy of the region. Part II discusses the gender dynamics of farming, forestry and biodiversity in a socio-cultural context where women are primarily responsible for food production. Part III highlights some alternative farming interventions and community-based efforts for environmental conservation, sustainable resource management and improved livelihoods. This book will be useful to scholars and students of agriculture, economics, development, environment and gender studies, and to those involved in policy analysis, natural resource management and community organisation, as also general readers interested in India’s northeastern region.