Agriculture and a Changing Environment in Northeastern India

Agriculture and a Changing Environment in Northeastern India
Author: Sumi Krishna
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2020-11-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1000084434

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.

Shifting Cultivation, Livelihood and Food Security

Shifting Cultivation, Livelihood and Food Security
Author: Christian Erni
Publisher:
Total Pages: 415
Release: 2015
Genre: Food security
ISBN: 9789251087619

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 13 September 2007. Since then, the importance of the role that indigenous peoples play in economic, social and environmental conservation through traditional sustainable agricultural practices has been gradually recognized. Consistent with the mandate to eradicate hunger, poverty and malnutrition--and based on the due respect for universal human rights--in August 2010 the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations adopted a policy on indigenous and tribal peoples in order to ensure the relevance of its efforts to respect, include, and promote indigenous people's related issues in its general work. This publication is an outcome of a regional consultation held in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2013. It documents seven case studies which were conducted in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Nepal and Thailand to take stock of the changes in livelihood and food security among indigenous shifting cultivation communities in South and Southeast Asia against the backdrop of the rapid socio-economic transformations currently engulfing the region. The case studies identify external--macro-economic, political, legal, policy--and internal--demographic, social, cultural--factors that hinder and facilitate achieving and sustaining livelihood and food security. The case studies also document good practices in adaptive changes among shifting cultivation communities with respect to livelihood and food security, land tenure and natural resource management, and identify intervention measures supporting and promoting good practices in adaptive changes among shifting cultivators in the region.

Bioprospecting of Indigenous Bioresources of North-East India

Bioprospecting of Indigenous Bioresources of North-East India
Author: Jubilee Purkayastha
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 349
Release: 2016-08-16
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9811006202

This work is a comprehensive information on the indigenous bioresources of North Eastern India with the scope of bioprospecting for discovery and commercialization of new sources and products and long-term ecological balance. The exploration, conservation and sustainable utilization of bioresources of world’s Megabiodiversity Hotspots are undeniable. North Eastern India is a recognised biodiversity hot spot where the evolutionary forces are at its optimum, making this region as centre of origin for many species. Although little bit exploratory studies have been conducted in this part of the globe but a scientific exploitation of the bioresources is almost lacking. Unscientific exploitation and overexploitation without proper knowledge of the bioresources may lead to imbalanced ecosystem of this mega diversity region. At the same time, very less exploration and exploitation will hamper biodiversity based development. Today, unscientific dramatic changes are underway in this region. Human activities are changing, degrading and destroying the bioresources in an unplanned manner. Scientific bioprospecting of the bioresources will boost the economy while ensuring conservation. This book offers comprehensive information about various levels of bioprospecting of the gene pool of this Indo-Burma Mega Biodiversity Hot Spot, the North East India, which is endowed with huge biodiversity potential for exploration and exploitation for the benefit of humankind. Also, this book highlights the less and merely explored part of the indigenous biodiversity of North East India with explanation towards their better sustainable exploitation for benefit of the people, economy and environment. The novelty of the book lies in expert coverage of the bioresources of this mega-diverse region including plants, microbes, insects etc. with provisions for their sustainable scientific utilization. This book portrays North East India as a melting pot of bioresources which are little explored and also those resources which are still to be explored. The book mainly highlights the bioprospecting approaches for North East Indian bioresources, and thus, it make itself a unique one in filling the knowledge gap that is there regarding the bioprospecting of the biodiversity of this special region on the earth. The book concludes by the ecotourism potential of this region. The target audiences for this book include biodiversity economists who are working on technology and bioresource management issues, and especially on biotechnology and biodiversity, development economists addressing the issues of bioresources in developing countries. These people may be in academia, in government, in non-governmental organizations and in private companies. The other target audiences group is policy scholars in government/public sectors who are interested in issues of biotechnology, IPRs, and biodiversity. In addition, scholars/experts in both development studies and resource management studies form another group of target audiences. Also, the book will be useful for the interaction between developed and developing nations regarding the issues of biodiversity and bioprospecting, as North Eastern India is the hub of Biodiversity.

Shifting Agriculture and Sustainable Development

Shifting Agriculture and Sustainable Development
Author: P. S. Ramakrishnan
Publisher:
Total Pages: 456
Release: 1992
Genre: Nature
ISBN:

This text presents a case study based in north-eastern India that serves as an in-depth analysis of the integration of conservation and sustainable development. By illustrating the contribution that scientists can make in assisting people in the tropics adapt to changing social and economic circumstances, the approaches and concepts set out in this volume will be of interest to those concerned with the ecological systems and cultures of the tropics.

Vegetables for Nutrition and Entrepreneurship

Vegetables for Nutrition and Entrepreneurship
Author: Brahma Singh
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 533
Release: 2023
Genre: Entrepreneurship
ISBN: 9811990166

This edited book is compiled by renowned Horticultural scientist Padma Shri Prof. Brahma Singh and Former Head of Vegetable Science Division, ICAR-IARI, New Delhi Dr Pritam Kalia. The book is mainly focused on two aspects of vegetable crops nutrition and entrepreneurial potential. The book explains the importance of vegetables crops as essential food items for managing food security and malnutrition. Since vitamins and minerals deficiency is on the increase globally, this book highlights the presence and availability of essential nutrients, vitamins in addition to other food constituents necessary for human health. The book also emphasizes on the potential of vegetables crops as an affordable avenue for entrepreneurial ventures. It explains the important steps in respect of vegetable crops, such as production, harvesting, packaging, transport, storage, marketing of fresh vegetables, processing and value-addition etc. The book chapters are written in simple language with recent scientific developments by the experienced and acknowledged scientists in the field. The book is a useful reading material for curriculum and examination requirements of undergraduate and postgraduate, and other university examinations. It is also of interest to professionals, researchers, policy makers and potential entrepreneurs in the field of vegetable crop farming.