Meghalaya redefines forest

Baigas in exile

Mautak will flower

The abundance of seeds in moist areas then invites rats and rodents, whose fertility, as nature would have it, increases when they feed on bamboo seeds. A study by Fabian M Jaksic and Mauricio Lima, ecologists at the Center for Advanced Studies in Ecology and Biodiversity in Chile, records a clear relation between rodent outbreaks in South America since in the 16th century and bamboo flowering and high rainfall.

Crossroad

Without Rubu Bukur, I am completely lost. Two rows of eerily quiet houses snake along both sides of a dusty road. This is Lempia village in the Apatani valley of Arunachal Pradesh. Over the next few days, Bukur will become my interpreter and guide to the valley. But today, my first morning here, I am all at sea.

Truth is more Slppery

Once the site of a famous victory of the Gallo tribe over the British, Gerukhamukh village today is the address of the biggest dam ever conceived in India. On the banks of river Sipai in Arunachal Pradesh's (ap ) West Siang district, the village is host to the Subansiri Lower Multipurpose Hydroelectric project (slp).

Old as the hills

jhum is slash-and-burn agriculture. It comes naturally to Khrieni Meru, 45, farmer from Khonoma village of Nagaland in India's Northeast. But it isn't half as violent a practice as it may sound from the term 'slash-and-burn'. The practice has trickled down generations and he thinks it doesn't harm the environment. He is not entirely wrong. But scientists and policymakers don't agree.

Chopping down the future

ARUNACHAL Pradesh is one of the greenest states in India. Yet today, despite having only seven persons to a square kilometre and about 8.4 million ha of rich vegetation, the state is gravely threatened by deforestation.

Finally, community forest rights

THE Soligas’ long struggle ends in victory. After bearing the brunt of wildlife protection measures for years, the inhabitants of the Biligiri Rangaswami Temple Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka can now access and manage the forest resources. On October 2, 25 gram sabhas of Soligas got community forest rights (CFR) recognised under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) of 2006. The tribals can now collect, own and dispose of minor forest produce (MFP) from the reserve. Besides protecting and regenerating forest resources for sustainable use, they can also hold customary practices like worshipping sacred places.

Baiga agriculture can solve problems that plague modern systems

Forests in peril in Amazon rainforests

Many species of trees in the Amazon rainforests, and animals that depend on them are disappearing more rapidly than previously thought, an international research team reported recently.