JHUMING AND BIO-DIVERSITY OF NORTHEAST INDIA: A CASE STUDY

Author Details

Md. Baharuddin Shah

Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, G. P. Women’s College, Imphal – 795001

Abstract

In Northeast India, jhuming is a widely practised food production system. It has been criticized on ecological and socio-economic grounds. Large-scale burning of forest, destruction of natural habitats and the consequent reduction of species of fauna and flora are some of the conspicuous results of jhuming. It is often said to be damaging the environment. At least 6.2 lakh families are engaged in jhuming covering 1.73 million hectares of the hilly region of Northeast India. This system is a big threat to the bio-diversity of the region. Keeping these aspects in mind Ukhrul district of Manipur was selected as the study area for in-depth study. This paper seeks to highlight few objectives such as assessing the state of forest cover and the loss of flora and fauna in Ukhrul district in an integrated manner, identify the areas under forest through Remote Sensing and GIS. The paper also highlighted the issues of environmental degradation associated with jhum particularly in the short jhum cycle. This paper concludes with the identification of changes in the state of the forest and its area primarily due to jhum through Remote Sensing and GIS and thus, in the process, suggested ways to minimize the pressure on the very forest ecosystem.

Keywords: Forest cover, loss of flora and fauna, environmental degradation, jhum and ecosystem

Please cite this article as: Md. Baharuddin Shah (2016) JHUMING AND BIO-DIVERSITY OF NORTHEAST INDIA: A CASE STUDY. International Journal of Recent Research and Applied Studies, 3, 7(29),137-146