BACKGROUND PAPER NO. 12 JANUARY 2006 COMMUNITIES AND FOREST MANAGEMENT IN NORTHEAST INDIA BY MARK POFFENBERGER DIRECTOR, COMMUNITY FORESTRY INTERNATIONAL, U.S.A. WITH S. K. BARIK (NEHU), DHRUPAD CHOUDHURY (ICIMOD), VINCENT DARLONG (IFAD), VISHAL GUPTA (MOEF), S. PALIT (IFS RET.), IVAN ROY (IFS RET.), IBOBI SINGH (FD MANIPUR), B. K. TIWARI (NEHU), SANJAY UPADHYAY (ELDF) This paper was commissioned as an input to the study “Development and Growth in Northeast India: The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus” Table of contents Foreword .....................................................................................................................................................v Introduction ................................................................................................................................................1 1. Population and forest resources of northeast India.......................................................................4 1.1 Forest ecosystems of the Northeast ...........................................................................................4 1.2 Forest administration...................................................................................................................5 1.3 Forest condition ............................................................................................................................5 1.4 Forest cover change......................................................................................................................7 1.5 Government actions to conserve northeastern forests............................................................8 1.6 Community efforts to conserve forests .....................................................................................8 1.7 Population change........................................................................................................................9 1.8 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................11 2. Deforestation and degradation.......................................................................................................13 2.1 Role of indigenous institutions.................................................................................................13 2.2 Community resource management under pressure..............................................................14 2.3 Role of government....................................................................................................................15 2.4 Role of private sector.....................................................................................................................17 2.5 Role of traditional communities...............................................................................................17 2.6 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................18 3. Community forestry experiences from northeast India..............................................................20 3.1 The Nishi of East Kameng District, Arunachal Pradesh.......................................................20 3.2 The Naga and Kuki of Senapati District, Manipur................................................................26 3.3 The Jamatia of Killa District, Tripura ......................................................................................36 4. Land and forest rights: Tenure under law and policy.................................................................44 4.1 Background to forest administration in northeast India ......................................................44 4.2 Brief history of legislation supporting community forestry ................................................45 4.3 Government efforts to regulate forestry (1980–2005)............................................................46 4.4 Legal and policy issues impacting community forestry in northeast India.......................46 4.5 The role of the courts .................................................................................................................48 4.6 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................49 5. Forest benefits and costs ..................................................................................................................50 5.1 Change and adaptation .............................................................................................................50 ii 5.2 Executive policies and national and international programs ..............................................55 5.3 Conclusions .................................................................................................................................58 6. Challenges, priorities, and recommendations for sustainable forest management ................60 6.1 Indigenous community institutions ........................................................................................60 6.2 Formal recognition of community forestry areas ..................................................................60 6.3 Strengthen community forest management rules .................................................................61 6.4 Develop community-based landscape-level management plans ........................................61 6.5 Policy, legal, and judicial change to enable community forest management....................61 6.6 Forest department priorities, attitudes, and operational practices .....................................62 6.7 Joint Forest Management schemes...........................................................................................62 6.8 Privatization of communal lands .............................................................................................63 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................64 Tables Table 1. Major forest ecosystems of northeast India by elevation and species .................................4 Table 2. Administrative classification of forest cover in northeastern India.....................................5 Table 3. Actual forest cover in northeast India (km2) ...........................................................................7 Table 4. Change in forest area of northeast India (km2) .......................................................................7 Table 5. Population change in the Northeastern Region....................................................................10 Table 6. Per capita availability of forestland ........................................................................................10 Table 7. Per capita grain production in northeastern states, 1972 and 1991....................................11 Table 8. Proportion of all forestland under community control .......................................................13 Table 9. Land use pattern, Senapati case study site ............................................................................27 Table 10. Land use classification of Makhan village...........................................................................29 Table 11. Land use classification of Toirupha village .........................................................................40 Table 12. Forest area and shifting cultivation in northeast India......................................................52 Table 13. Land use trends in northeast India .......................................................................................52 Table 14. Major forest management contexts in NE India .................................................................55 Table 15. Comparison of community forest management and JFM systems ..................................56 Figures Figure 1. Pressure on community forest management systems in northeast India........................16 Figure 2. Strengthening community forest management systems in northeast India ...................19 Figure 3. Tribal communities of Arunachal Pradesh ..........................................................................21 iii Figure 4. Jhum plot planted with paddy, maize, tapioca, and millet...............................................23 Figure 5. Senapati District, Manipur .....................................................................................................28 Figure 6. Patterns of forestland allocation in Senapati District, Manipur........................................30 Figure 7. Community sketch map of Makhan village ........................................................................32 Figure 8. Tripura tribal autonomous district council areas and case study site .............................39 iv Foreword In northeast India, there is an urgent need for actions that promote the conservation and sustainable use of the region’s endangered forests and watersheds. This report proposes concrete actions that can enable communities to better protect and manage threatened ecosystems. The forests of the region are known around the world for their rich biodiversity and dramatic scenery. The region is inhabited by a diverse array of cultural communities, covering a staggering range of terrain. In all, over 240 distinct ethnolinguistic groups are distributed through the mountains, plateaus, upland valleys, and river plains, making the Northeast one