Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, JANUARY 15
While agriculture remains the mainstay of Nagaland with 60% of the population and 68.03% of the state’s work force engaged in this occupation, unsystematic land use patterns and consequential decline in land productivity have recently raised the concern of many agriculturists as well as environmentalists.
Recent studies reportedly indicate that one of the key causes of degradation of the forest ecosystem in Nagaland and the associated services it generates is related to the practice of shifting cultivation (also called Jhum), one of the most widely practiced forms of agriculture by the tribal communities in Nagaland. Agriculturists say the jhum cycle that was once 14 years or more, has now declined to 6 years or less in many places in the state and this shortened jhum cycle is putting pressure on resources and productivity of land. The logical corollary are increase in level of soil erosion, hydrological imbalance and forest degradation, all of which have caused reduction in yields, insecurity of food sources, biodiversity loss and deforestation.
It is estimated that 70 percent of the top soil loss, land degradation and deterioration in water sources is attributed to the practice of shifting cultivation. This system of cultivation, coupled with high rainfall, is cited as the main reason for heavy erosion resulting in the loss of an alarming quantity of top soil, to the extent of 40 tonnes of top soil per hectare per year.
In view of the deteriorating fertility of land and low yield, increase in population, and demand driven crop production, there is increasing tendency for jhum farmers to intensify pressures on land, natural resources and forest ecosystems and the major challenge that the state faces today is how to adapt land use and production system while also maintaining its ecological sustainability in the backdrop of rising populations and changing lifestyles.
In order to address land degradation in jhum cultivation areas in Nagaland through Sustainable Land and Ecosystem Management (SLEM) principle, a Global Environment Facility (GEF) funded United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)-state government project undertook intensive research and has designed intervention strategies keeping in mind the ecological concerns, socio-economic needs, and traditional sensitivities of local communities in the three project districts of Mokokchung, Wokha and Mon. One notable approach of the project is the introduction of Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) with the objective to develop, demonstrate and upscale sustainable land management practices for the conservation of jhum lands across three districts through an ecosystem approach to address land degradation, livelihood improvement of the target community and fostering ecological security in the region.
The project has reportedly developed and demonstrated PLUP across 35 project areas and successfully set up 35 dedicated Land Use Committees. This process is said to be the first community planning at landscape level in the state involving various stakeholders, including women, in the view that women contribute majority of the labour force to agriculture and no approach would be complete unless this group that constitutes more than half of the workforce is made a major part of community based management plan.
According to the UNDP Nagaland, the project has empowered local communities, especially women by involving them in decision-making process regarding land use while respecting traditional values, and encouraged local farmers to adopt practices to improve soil fertility and promote livelihoods to attain food security and self sufficiency.
The inclusion of women in local land use committees has been a milestone achievement towards empowering them to contribute in larger decision making processes in the village land use planning process, thereby also promoting gender equality at the grassroots. As per the project, some of the important resolutions passed by the village councils include maintaining riparian buffer zones 50 feet on both sides of the river, retaining vegetation on hill tops and ridges, protecting water source and gullies by not slashing and burning along them, plantation of local trees in fallow lands, placing logs along the slopes reducing top soil loss in jhum land.
Socio-economic impact studies conducted by an independent agency indicated the positive impacts made by the project during the project period which started in 2009, on the livelihood as well as ecological security of the local communities in the project areas with about 35472.9 ha of vegetation cover increased by adopting fallow management, horticulture, soil and water conservation measures, creation of new forest areas and improved agro forestry. Also, about 2320 ha of jhum cultivation areas is reported to be permanently converted to community conserved forest areas. Besides these, improved soil and water conservation and agro- forestry measures in 18500 ha project areas are said to have resulted in the reduction of soil erosions rate by about 20.20 mt/ha/year while the annual income of 7000 farmers increased by 20-25% from sales of jhum crops through livelihood intervention, crop management, pest and disease management, improved agro forestry and farm practices, Integrated Farm Development (IFD), providing access to credit facilities, livestock and market shed under the project.
According to the UNDP Nagaland, PLUP has significantly contributed to SLEM in shifting cultivation areas of Nagaland. Although there are myriad practices of jhum depending on various tribes, traditional community setup are well in placed, presenting an ideal platform for PLUP to put technical intervention measures into a socially appropriate context to ensure its relevance, long term application and thus their effectiveness. Its report also stated experiences have shown that strengthening local institutions and knowledge is an important step towards securing sustainable resource management, local communities show willingness and are able to take decisions to change land use practices for the benefit of their communities, although individual interests are compromised in the process.
A legal firm under the aegis of the UNDP also carried out a study for preparation of policy recommendations for strengthening the jhum policy in the state of Nagaland and for recommending mainstreaming strategies for sustainable jhum practices into existing legal and policy frame work of the state. The recommendations have been presented to the state government in 2015.
All in all, PLUP appears to be a powerful social tool for sustainable land management, capacity building, empowerment, securing land tenure and conflict resolution over resources, and in doing so, it provides useful evidence for the application of the SLEM approach across the state.
