ecowhisper vol 2, issue 1, march, 2015

WHISPER ECO

Eastern

Himalaya Spec

ial Vol. 2. Issue 1., March, 2015

Society for Conserving Planet And Life (COPAL) Srinagar Garhwal, 246174, Uttarakhand, India

www.copal.org.in

EcoWhisper

© 2015, EcoWhisper COPAL Publications

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. EcoWhisper the Environmental magazine contains material protected Copyright Policy of Govt. of India. Any unauthorized reprint

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without express written permission from the publishers.

ECO WHISPER Volume 2, Issue 1. March, 2015

EcoWhisper is published by Society for

Conserving Planet And Life (COPAL)

Address:

Society for Conserving Planet And Life (COPAL)

Badrinath Road,

Srinagar Garhwal, 246174

Uttarakhand

India.

Website: www.copal.org.in

Webpage: www.facebook.com/copal.org

Blog: www.copalindia.blogspot.in

Editor in Chief

Dr. D. Dhyani, India

Copy Editors

Dr. Vikram S. Negi, India

Dr. Anurag Dhyani, Ethiopia

Design and Layout


Cover Photo

Lata Kharak in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve,

Uttarakhand, India at 4,000 m asl.


Photo at Page 14

Integrated Fish farming in paddy fields of North

East India.

Dr. Mihin Dolo, India

Back Photo

Terraced crop fields of Kedarnath Valley, Uttara-

khand, India.

Dr. Shalini Dhyani, India

Publisher

COPAL publications

Society for Conserving Planet and

Life (COPAL) was founded because of

the need for environmental conserva-

tion and protection of many ne-

glected natural resources and land-

scapes. The mission of COPAL is to

initiate the process of responsible

thinking followed by responsible ac-

tions. This involves incorporating

science and societal participation in

conserving and managing natural

resources. Our process of conserva-

tion and management of natural re-

sources follows sound ecological

principles. These principles are cou-

pled with traditional and indigenous

knowledge, scientific technology and

community involvement. After years

of dedicated research in various ecol-

ogically important as well as sensi-

tive ecosystem,s of India, having sup-

port of like minded enthusiasts we

developed as an organization that

was registered in August, 2010 as a

Public Trust and Society.

i.

http://www.copal.org.in

http://www.facebook.com/copal.org

http://www.copalindia.blogspot.in

IN SIGHT

1 (1-7)

2 (8-15)

3 (16-23)

4 (24-27)

5 (28-32)

6(33-38)

7(39-43)

A sustainable approach of Pine-Bamboo cultivation in Ziro valley, Arunachal Pradesh, India. - Tapi Taka, TonlongWangpan and Sumpam Tangjang

Understanding indigenous irrigation systems in North East India. - Prabal Sen, N. Linthoingambi Devi, Dipendra Singha Story of honey and honey bees from Debre-Nazret, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. - Gebru Equar G.

Let’s satiate our taste buds with tora. -Vasanthi K. Akshaya Samethadka Prospects of Jhumming for indigenous tribes of Arun-achal Pradesh, India. -Tonlong Wangpan, Tapi Taka and Sumpam Tangjang

Sacred Groves: Linking conservation with religion in North East India. -Manjil Hazarika

Community Seed Bank: Conserving wild edible diversity of Himalayas. -D. Dhyani

ii.

Copal Publications, EcoWhisper Vol. 2. Issue 1., March, 2015

Dear Readers,

Let me first wish you all a very peaceful and prosperous New Year 2015 . I extend

my heartfelt gratitude to all the well wishers and readers for providing such a grand open-

ing to our inaugural issue of EcoWhisper, by COPAL in 2014. You all became reasons to

be inspired and motivated. The way you all accepted the e-format of the magazine helped

us reduce the cost input by saving papers and yes!! TREES too. A reason to smile and

keeping our promise to initiate responsible thinking at every possible small step we are

taking. Your kind words of appreciation itself brought a lot of enthusiasm to the entire

COPAL team to compile the second issue of EcoWhisper in bigger and better way. In sec-

ond issue of EcoWhisper we have tried to bring more scientific angle to the kind of

awareness we generate through a variety of research experiences with a special focus on

North East India and Eastern Himalayas. Many of these research experiences have origi-

nated from indigenous practices that are still tested ones.

Present issue opens to you all with an article providing overview about Bamboo

cultivation in Zero valley, one of the important indigenous landscapes of NE India. Next

in the series details about traditional irrigation systems of NE India. A cultural and social

tool that can help a society develop along a desired trajectory. Providing an international

perspective to the magazine is our next article that talks about host plants of Honey bees

in Ethiopia from wild Africa. Present issue is not only about scientific aspects about land-

scapes, practices and species but also about twists. One of such twist is the food page that

is about food values of Chakwad/Cassia tora. I am sure not only women but men are also

going to like this light refreshing article. Again with our special inputs coming from East-

ern Himalayas one of the biodiversity hotspots of India comes insight on prospects and

impacts of Jhumming in NE. Sacred groves are also one of the important articles in pre-

sent context in the issue: a perspective of sacred and conserved landscapes of NE. Foster-

ing a vision of conserving lesser known under utilized wild edibles is one of the new per-

spectives that are to be conserved by setting up community conserved seed banks and our

last story is about this innovative concept being developed in Nanda Devi Biosphere in

India.

I am confident that you all are going to enjoy reading this issue too and like it

much more than previous first inaugural issue. Handing it over to you with the expecta-

tion that you will write back your suggestions and feed backs if you liked and how we can

improve it more.

Dr. D. Dhyani

Editor in Chief

Editorial

iii

EcoWhisper Vol. 2. Issue 1., March, 2015

A Sustainable Approach of Pine-Bamboo

Cultivation in Ziro Valley, Arunachal

Pradesh, India Tapi Taka, TonlongWangpan and Sumpam Tangjang

Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills, Doimukh-791 112, Arunachal Pradesh, India

Ziro is a beautiful valley in the lower

Subansiri district of Arunachal Pradesh,

Northeast India. The valley is famous for

its pine clad gentle hills, lush green bam-

boo grove and unique form of rice-cum-

fish cultivation is inhabited by the Apatani

tribe. The judicious use of the limited

area is the distinguishing characteristic of

this valley.

The bamboo and pine (Lead Image)

are two inevitable timbers of the Apatanis

which play a major and pivotal role in

their society. Bamboo, a group of peren-

nial evergreen grass belongs to the family

Poaceae is the fastest growing plants in

the world, notable for their strength, hard-

ness, and rate of growth.

Pines are evergreen, resinous trees of

the genus Pinus belonging to the family

Pinaceae growing 3–80 m tall, with the

majority of species reaching 15-45 m tall.

There are different species of bamboo in

the valley like Phyllostachys bambu-

soides, Chimonobam busacallosa, Den-

drocalamus hamiltonii, Bambusatulda,

Cephallostachium capitatum, Pleios blas-

tussimoni, Arundinacia spp, etc of which

Phyllostachys bambusoides is the most

1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evergreen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poaceae

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_%28biology%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinaceae


widely cultivated and extensively used one

in the area. The major pine species is

Pinus wallichiana, with some artificial in-

duction of induction of Pinuskhasianain

the valley. The Apatanis have an age old

practice of growing bamboo and pine to-

gether and separately. The exact reason

for why and when the ethnic Apatani

started the plantation of bamboo and pine

together is still obscure. Nonetheless, it is

believed that the pine tree grew by its own

when the seeds were blown and dropped

in the bamboo grove. They found that no

trees other than pine tree could survive

successfully in the bamboo groves. Simi-

larly, no other shrubs and smaller trees

could grow properly along with the pine

trees except the bamboos. This generation

long observations has led local people to

conclude that the bamboo and pine can be

grown together as sustainable land use

system.

Moreover, the pine trees grown in

bamboo garden helps in aeration of soil-

which enhance the growth of bamboo.

Pine trees have a shallow root system

which makes them prone to toppling over

in high winds. The bamboos growing

around reduce the wind force striking the

tree. Nevertheless, this type of pine-cum-

bamboo plantation is extensively prac-

ticed in the present time.

2

Taipona fungus on Bamboo


Initially, young pine trees are planted

in the field. The trees are planted keeping

a distance of about three meters from each

other. After about 3-4 years, when the

trees become about 2 meters the bamboos

are inter-planted. Bamboo of about 2-3

years is selected for planting in the new

place. Bamboos are planted in the month

of January or February.

Generally, the plantation work is car-

ried out on a moist day for moist soil is

preferred but water is added if the soil is

dry. Nevertheless, clay soil is always

avoided for plantation. Interestingly, the

bamboo with roots exposed is selected for

the plantation. The bamboo is uprooted

from the ground with roots running to-

wards both the directions by cutting the

root by about 1 meter on both sides.

In order to plant properly the soil is dug

by about 1 foot deep. The bamboo is cut

from the tip to below by 2 meters to pre-

vent them from falling by the wind. The

support is given to the plant by the bam-

boo frame/stand. The local bamboo, Phyl-

lostachys bamboosoides mature in

3rdyear of plantation.

Surprisingly, the maturity is indi-

cated by the sudden appearance of fungus

on the surface of the culms which is locally

called as ‘Taipona’ (Fig on page 2). The fun-

gus on the surface of culm is eaten as such

by the local people. After 6thor 7thyear the

branches of the pine trees are trimmed to

facilitate the aerial growth of the trees.

When the tree circumference becomes

about half meter then some of the trees

are cut down which are very near to each

3


other in order to make the distance of

about 3-6 meters. This is done after about

10-12 years. After about 25-30 years, the

trees are cut for the second time when the

circumference of the trees becomes about

1-1.5 meters to create the space of about

25-30 meters.

Mulch produced by the pine trees is a

natural soil enhancer that reduces erosion

and helps to slow down the evaporation of

moisture in the soil. It can reduce weeds,

protect tender roots and add beneficial

nutrients to the soil. The mulch when de-

cay is likely to attract fungi which can

yield nutrients from the plant debris for

both pine and bamboo.

4 Traditional Weaponry

Traditional Cemetery

The Apatanis make utmost use of the

bamboo and pine grown by them. The ju-

venile shoots of Phyllostachys bamboo-

soides and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii are

consumed as a food source. The tender

stem of Cephalostachyum capitatumis

prescribed to be eaten raw in treatment of

stomach-ache. The fully matured bamboo

serves as timber and fiber. Further, it is

also used in house construction, fence

making, crafts, weaponry, religious alters

and cemetery etc. Soon after harvest, the

tip of the bamboo is used for the fence

while the underground rhizome is dug out

and used as firewood.


5

Daily use articles made up of bamboo.

Traditional bamboo house


6

Traditional way to use bamboo as bio- fence

Bamboo used in making religious altars


Besides, the pine wood is primarily

used for the construction purpose. The fat

wood derived from the heartwood of pine

is used as igniter and the torch due to

which they were never in need of the fossil

fuels in their houses right from the olden

days.

The tribe has perfected the co-

existence of man and nature over centu-

ries by an efficient resources management

with rich traditional ecological knowledge,

and their conservative nature, acquired

over the centuries through informal ex-

perimentation, which has been attracting

the UNESCO to propose Apatani or Ziro

valley as World Heritage Site.

Reference Cited

Dollo, M., Samal, P.K., Sundriyal, R. C. &

Kumar, K. (2009). Environmentally

sustainable traditional natural re-

source management and conservation

in Ziro valley, Arunachal Himalaya,

India Journal of American Science. 5

(5), 41-52.

Myers. N. (1998). Threatened biota, hot-

spots in tropical forests, Environmen-

talist, 8, 1-20.

Peay, K. G., Bruns, T. D. & Garbelotto, M.

(2010). Testing the ecological stability

of ectomycorrhizal symbiosis: effects

of heat, ash, and mycorrhizal coloni-

zation on Pinus muricata seedling

performance. Plant Soil, 330, 291-

302.

Sinha, B. (2002). Introduction of the

European pines in the Himalayas: A

brief note. Envis Bulletin Himalayan

Ecology, 10, 1.

7

Understanding Indigenous Irrigation

Systems in North East India Prabal Sen1, N. Linthoingambi Devi2, Dipendra Singha2

1Caritas India, North East Zone, Kharguli, Joypur, Guwahati -781 004, Assam 2Dept. of Forestry, Mizoram University, Aizawl-796004


Irrigation serves as a cultural and social

tool that can help a society develop along

a desired trajectory. Historically, civiliza-

tions have been dependent on develop-

ment of irrigated agriculture to provide

agrarian basis of a society and to enhance

the food security of people. Archaeological

investigation has identified evidence of

irrigation in Mesopotamia and Egypt as

far back as the 6th millennium BCE,

where barley was grown in areas where

the natural rainfall was insufficient to

support such a crop. Ministry of Water

Resources (Govt. of India), on its web site

briefly explains the history of irrigation

development in India which can be traced

back to prehistoric times. Vedas, Ancient

Indian writers and ancient Indian scrip-

tures have made references to wells, ca-

nals, tanks and dams. These irrigation

technologies were in the form of small

and minor works, which could be oper-

ated by small households to irrigate small

patches of land. Irrigation has acquired

increasing importance in agriculture the

world over. From just 8 million hectares

in the year 1800, irrigated area across the

world increased fivefold to 40 Million

8


Hectares (13.4 Million Hectares in India)

in 1900, to 100 M Ha in 1950 and to just

over 255 M Ha in 1995. Irrigation devel-

opment has a unique role to play in help-

ing indigenous communities meet their

cultural objectives because of its blend of

economic and socio-cultural impacts.

North East (NE) India comprising of the

states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh,

Mizoram, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura,

Nagaland and Sikkim is characterised by

rich biodiversity and cultural heritage

conserved through ages.

The whole of the N.E. Region covers

a total geographical area of 25,509 thou-

sand hectares and it is about 7.75 percent

of the total geographical area of India.

Among the seven States, Assam being the

second biggest State accounts for more

than 72 percent of the net sown area in the

region. N.E. region is highly dependent on

natural moisture and rainfall for growing

varieties of crops leading to high degree of

instability in agricultural production. NE

India is highly rich in water resources

available for the benefit of the community.

The region receives an annual rainfall of

2300 mm that drains into the river sys-

tems like the Brahmaputra and the Barak.

Northeast India is the homeland of a

large number of tribes. There are 145 total

communities of which 78 are large, each

with a population of more than 5000.

They constitute around 12 percent of the

total tribal population of India and 25.81

per cent of the total population of North

East India. Ethnic communities of NE In-

dia have developed their own mean of irri-

gation for crops over the years.

The pattern of agricultural growth in

NE region (NER) of India has remained

uneven across regions. Agriculture pro-

vides livelihood support to 70% of the

population of NE region. The agricultural

practices in the region are broadly of two

distinct types, viz., (i) settled farming

practiced in the plains, valleys, foothills

and terraced slopes and (ii) shifting culti-

vation (Jhum) practiced on the hill slopes.

In NER four important agricultural

systems are found prevalent viz., Rice

based farming system of the Apatanis,

Zabo based terrace wet rice cum fish cul-

ture of the Chakhesangs, Bamboo drip ir-

rigation system of Jaintia and Khasi Hills

in Meghalaya and Alder-based jhum sys-

tem of the Angamis of Nagaland8. In spite

of covering 7.9% of the country’s total geo-

graphical area, NER produces only 1.5% of

the country’s total food grain production.

NER continues to be a net importer of

food grains even for its own consumption.

Irrigation is a strategic input in any

development programme of the primary

sector of the NER. NER is lagging behind

in respect of overall development of the

9


agricultural sector. The region though pre-

dominantly agrarian has not been able to

free it from the clutches of vagaries of

monsoon through adequate irrigation fa-

cilities.

History of Irrigation in North East India Distribution of rainfall in North East India

is highly uneven. During the period from

October-February, rainfall is scanty and

the quantity varies from 5 to 10% of the

annual rainfall. In this period average

evaporation exceeds average precipitation

by 8 to 357 mm. Therefore, conservation

and supplementation of soil moisture by

irrigation becomes necessary during this

period of moisture stress.

Farming systems mainly depends on rain,

minor irrigation, and gravitational irriga-

tion in certain pockets of the perennial

hilly streams under govt. or individual

community initiative while wetland rice

based farming systems, dependent upon

monsoon rains supplemented by irriga-

tion.

Basic Statistics of North Eastern Re-

gion, 1992 published by the North Eastern

Council, Shillong indicated that about 22

percent of the net area sown in the region

was irrigated (Table). Irrigation water is

distributed to the fields through pipe out-

lets placed in the banks of main canals,

branch canals, distributaries and minors.

Most of the outlets are ungated and a

number of them are temporary.

Table Source: Basic Statistics of North Eastern Region, 1992. Note: Figures in parentheses denote percentage of net irrigated area to net sown area.

10


Irrigation facilities by sources reveals that

the seven States in the N.E. Region are not

equally endowed with different irrigation

facilities. Thus, it can be said that the

creation of irrigational facilities is not up

to the mark and probably it is yet to create

an impact on the total production and

productivity in agriculture in the region.

Traditional Irrigation Systems in

NER

Traditional irrigation and water harvest-

ing system are an age old practice carried

out by the different communities of NER.

These systems are prevalent in the hills as

well as in the riverine plains of NER are-

Zabo, Dong, Cheo-ozihi, Bamboo Drip Ir-

rigation and Rice-cum-fish farming sys-

tem of the Apatanis. A brief description of

these systems is discussed below.

1.Bamboo Drip Irrigation: Meghalaya

has an ingenious system of tapping of

stream and spring water by using bamboo

pipes to irrigate plantations. About 18-20

litres of water entering the bamboo pipe

system per minute gets transported over

several hundred metres and finally gets

reduced to 20-80 drops per minute at the

site of the plant. This 200-year-old system

is used by the tribal farmers of Khasi and

Jaintia hills to drip-irrigate their black

pepper cultivation.Hard Bamboo pipes are

used to divert perennial springs on the

hilltops to the lower reaches by gravity.

The channel sections, made of bam-

boo, divert and convey water to the plot

site where it is distributed without leakage

into branches, again made and laid out

with different forms of bamboo pipes. Ma-

nipulating the intake pipe positions also

controls the flow of water into the lateral

pipes. Reduced channel sections and di-

version units are used at the last stage of

water application.

The last channel section enables the

water to be dropped near the roots of the

plant. Bamboos of varying diameters are

used for laying the channels. Other com-

ponents are small pipes and channels of

varying sizes used for diversion and distri-

bution of water from the main channel.

About four to five stages of distribution

are involved from the point of the water

diversion to the application point.

Drip Irrigation in Meghalaya/ Gautam Das

11


2. Zabo: The word “Zabo” means im-

pounding of water. Zabo, an indigenous

farming system that combines forestry,

agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry

appears to have originated in Kikruma vil-

lage having an annual rainfall of 1613 mm

and located at an altitude of 1270 m above

mean sea level in Phek district of Na-

galand13. The Chakhesang community

who inhabited this village have developed

this system and it is being practised in an

area of 957.9 hectare.

3. Dong: The age old indigenous irriga-

tion system called dong enables the villag-

ers to meet their water needs throughout

the year but its utility is felt more during

the prolonged dry winters when water be-

comes scarce even for drinking purposes.

This traditional system is in practice in

parts of Lower Assam14. It is being prac-

ticed by Assamese, Boros & Nepalese etc.

Dongs operate on sound principles of wa-

ter management, ensuring that there is no

waste and water is distributed judiciously

and equitably especially for irrigation.

4. Cheo-ozihi: The River Mezii flows

along the Angami village of Kwigema in

Nagaland. The river water is brought

down by a long channel. From this chan-

nel, many branch channels are taken off,

and water is often diverted to the terraces

through bamboo pipes. One of the chan-

nels is named Cheo-oziihi - oziihi means

water and Cheo was the person responsi-

ble for the laying of this 8-10 km-long

channel with its numerous branches. This

channel irrigates a large number of ter-

races in Kwigwema, and some terraces in

the neighbouring village. There are

three khels and the village water budget is

divided among them.

5. Wet Rice Irrigation: There are two

important traditional irrigation systems in

Arunachal Pradesh-the irrigation of rice

terraces with bamboo pipes, and the

Apatani system of wet rice irrigation. In

the former method, water is transported

through an intricate system of Bamboo

pipes to agriculture fields. But this system

is now becoming obsolete and is being re-

placed by iron pipes and channel irriga-

tion.

Wet rice cultivation by Apatanis/Mihin Dollo

12


6. Pukhris or Ponds: Pukhris or Ponds

in Manipur Pukhris are the most preva-

lent traditional water harvesting struc-

tures. Till a few decades ago, one pond

was shared by two or three households.

Community ponds are also commonly

found in the settlements. A substantial

amount of the vegetables produced in the

state are grown in private kitchen gardens,

which use water from ponds. It was quite

common to have a small pond at the lower

end of the plot in paddy fields. It was use-

ful during the dry spells between the rains

after sowing.

7. Kholas: In Sikkim, local people have

evolved efficient water harvesting systems

together with land management systems.

Irrigation is mostly confined to rice fields

and cardamom plantations. In rice fields,

irrigation is done in bench terraces. In the

case of cardamom, irrigation water is al-

lowed to flow without proper distribution

channels. Construction of water channels,

regulation of water flow, and drawing of

drinking water were traditionally done

through community participation. The

common sources of drinking water are

streams and kholas (tanks).

8. Tuikhur: In Mizoram people used to

harvest the water from small hilly streams

by constructing tanks or Tuikhur at the

foot hills. The harvested water is trans-

ported or transferred by different means

for use in different purposes. Bamboo

pipes, rubber/iron pipes are some of the

means of transport. Harvested water is

used for irrigation, drinking, washing etc.

9. In the Brahmaputra and Barak valleys

of Assam, there had been a long tradition

of artificial irrigation, by the means of ar-

tificial channels in the sub-mountainous

tracts. In certain parts of the state, par-

ticularly in Golaghat, Sibsagar, Cachar,

Hailakandi and Jorhat areas, there was

also a tradition to dig ponds which were

mostly used for drinking water.

Puhkhri in Manipur/ N Linthoingambi Devi

Tuikhur in Mizoram / Dipendra Singha

13


14

Integrated Fish farming in paddy fields of NE India/ Mihin Dolo


Conclusion

There exists enough scope to increase the

production and productivity of food grains

and other crops by putting more emphasis

on the creation of irrigation facilities and

through optimal combination of various

agricultural inputs such as irrigation,

cropping intensity, and improved seeds

and fertilizers. Further the irrigation sys-

tem can be improved by adopting water

harvesting and river-based irrigation sys-

tem in NER. Vast water resources of the

region should not be allowed to be drained

into the sea along with valuable top soil.

In this regard, the government should be

focussed on the integration of traditional

and modern scientific technologies for

harvesting the water in order to maintain

the farmlands, enhancement of farmer’s

livelihood and securing the food security.

Reference Cited

Ali Irshad, A.N.M. and Das, I., Tribal

Situation in North East India. Stud.

Tribals., 2003, 2, 141-148.

Anonymous, North East Data Bank. North

Eastern Development Finance Corpo-

ration Limited. http://db.nedfi.com/

content/agriculture, Guwahati, As-

sam. Ministry of DoNER, Government

of India 20082.

In: Datta Ray and Athparia (eds.).

Omsons Publications, New Delhi,

1999, pp. 170-176

Pulamte, L., Indigenous Agricultural Sys-

tems of Northeast India. India, Sci-

ence and Technology. NISTADS/

CSIR, Government of India. http://

www.nistads.res.in/indiasnt2008/

t6rural/t6rur18.htm , 2008.

Sharma, M.K., Institutional Framework of

River Basin Management in North

East India-History, Experience and

the Way Forward. Background Paper

No. 8. Input to the Study

Shrisath, P.B., Irrigation Development in

India: History & Impact. http://

indiairrigaion.blogspot.com/2009/

01/history-of-irrigation-development

-in_01.html 2009.

Sanjeev, M.V., Venkatasubramanian, V.

and Singha, A.K., Farming Systems

of North East India. In: Farming

Systems of North East India Re-

search and Development Strategies

for KVKs. Pub: The Zonal Project Di-

rector, Zonal Project Directorate,

Zone – III, ICAR, Umiam, Megha-

laya, India, 2010.

http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/

detailsnew.asp?id=feb2110/at091,

(http://www.iwmi.cgiar.org/

Assessment/index.htm) 2005.

15

Story of Honey and Honey Bees from

Debre-Nazret, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

Gebru Equar G. Department of Biology, Botany, Mekelle University, Ethiopia.


The honeybee is one of the most studied

of all animals, other than man, yet the re-

search has been entirely on the European

honeybee Apis mellifera. Amazingly how-

ever, only within the past 15 years a num-

ber of ‘new’ honeybee species have been

recorded, following are the eleven species

in genus Apis.

Apis andreniformis Apis binghami

Apis breviligula Apis cerana

Apis dorsata Apis florea

Apis koschevnikovi Apis laboriosa

Apis mellifera Apis nigrocincta

Apis nuluensis

The species of honeybees nesting behavior

determines whether or not the bees will

tolerate being kept inside a man-made

hive. Some of the species make nests con-

sisting of a series of parallel combs, other

species nest on just one, single comb. The

species that build a series of parallel

combs usually nest inside cavities, and

this behavior enables them to nest inside

man-made containers and therefore opens

up possibilities for keeping and manage-

ment of these bees inside hives.

Bees that produce enough honey to be

worth harvesting belongs to the two sub

16


families of the family Apidae: Apinae

(honeybees) and Meliponinae (stingless

bees). Apinae has only one genus, Apis,

and about nine species of which the Apis

mellifera species is of greater economic

importance.

Apis mellifera is now the most pro-

ductive and widely distributed around

world. Tropical subspecies of Apis mel-

lifera are smaller than temperate zone

subspecies, and they have a slender abdo-

men. They are generally less amenable to

handling and management, swarm read-

ily; also, the whole colony may abscond as

a result of damage and disturbance of

their nest or shortage of food. Moreover,

the bees are easily alerted to sting and this

characteristic allows their survival in the

African tropics where they were apt to be

attacked by many 'enemies'.

Honeybees are one of the most im-

portant pollinators of angiosperms be-

cause of their diet, flower visiting habits

and hairy bodies that readily pick up pol-

len grains, and the fact that they exclu-

sively visit many flowers of the same spe-

cies during a single trip . Crop pollination

is also the most important economic out-

come of honeybee activities.

Bees and trees belong together. The

honeybees and stingless bees have origi-

nally developed in forest biotopes. Given

bees and trees belong together. The hon-

eybees and stingless bees have originally

developed in forest biotopes. Given the

choice, wild honeybees selects nesting

places in trees rather than in an open

landscape. Most often the honeybees pre-

fer to build their combs or nests high in

trees instead of close to the ground, but

bees nests can be found everywhere in a

tree. When beekeeping is present in a for-

est, the beekeepers will be interested in

protection of the forests and especially the

tall trees preferred by the bees. When

enough bees are present in a forest, they

provide a better pollination that leads to

improved regeneration of trees and con-

servation of the forest’s biodiversity.

Bees and most flowering plants have

developed a complex interdependence

during millions of years. It is estimated

that half of the pollinators of tropical

plants are bees. The efficiency of honey-

bees is due to their great numbers, their

morphology and their behaviour of forag-

ing on only one plant species at one time.

The bees have to find their food in flowers.

The food can be nectar or pollen. Nectar

is produced to attract the bees. Pollen is

also attracting the bees, but it is produced

also to ensure the next generation of

plants. Bee pollinated flowers have

evolved in such a way that a visiting bee

17


Man made honey hives Local honey market

has to brush against the flower’s anthers

bearing pollen, or there may be a special

mechanism to release the anthers to

spring up or down to cover the bee with

pollen. Compared with other insects, bees

are extremely hairy. Each hair has a

branched structure that makes it highly

effective at catching pollen.

The present research work has been

carried out in Debre-Nazret, a part of the

south eastern zone of Tigray about 27 km

west of Mekelle, capital of Tigray Regional

state. It is situated between 130 26'N -

130 30'N latitude and 390 16' - 390

20'E longitude at an altitudinal range of

1508 to 2160 meter above sea level.

Honeybee is also believed to play a

significant role in the economy of Ethiopia

through pollination services. Pollination

is crucial factor that influence seed pro-

duction in agricultural crops. In Ethiopia,

an experiment was conducted to deter-

mine the consequence of pollination on

Niger (Guizotia abyssinica) and the result

Looking after the hives Pollen investigation

18

Leucas abyssinica

Carduus nyassanus Hypoestes forskaolii

Euclea racemosa subsp. schimperi Dodonaea angustifolia

Cordia africana


19


showed that honeybee increased the seed

yield of Niger by about 43% and Onion

(Allium cepa) by 2%. Bombus affinis

been shown to be an excellent pollinator

of cranberry.

Honey is natural sweet substance

produced by Apis mellifera bees from the

nectar of plants or from secretions of liv-

ing parts of plants or excretions of plant-

sucking insects on the living parts of

plants which the bees collect and trans-

form by combining it with specific sub-

stances of their own, deposit, dehydrate,

store and leave in honeycombs to ripen

and mature.

Honey is a complex mixture and pre-

sents very great variations in composition

and characteristics due to its geographical

and botanical origin, its main features de-

pending on the floral origin or the nectar

foraged by bees. Honey characterization is

based on the determination of its chemi-

cal, physical or biological Properties. The

composition of honey depends on the

plant species visited by the honeybees and

the environmental processing and storage

conditions.

The carbohydrates are the major

components of honey. The Monosaccha-

rides such as fructose and glucose are the

dominant fraction and occur for 85 -

95% of honey sugars. Honey also contains,

water and certain minor constituents such

as proteins, enzymes, amino and organic

acids, lipids, vitamins, volatile chemicals,

phenolic acids, flavonoids, and carotenoid

-like substances.

Production of honey and other prod-

ucts depend on availability of floral re-

sources (bee forage) and is a very impor-

tant field for most beekeepers in the

world. Most of the methods for obtaining

information about plants used in an area

are based on direct field observations of

foraging honeybees on flowers. These food

sources provide the nutritional require-

ments of the bee colonies: nectar as

sources of honey provides heat and en-

ergy for honey bees and pollen provides

protein, vitamins, fatty substance, and

other nutrients.

The findings of the study suggest that

owing to its varied ecological and climatic

conditions, Ethiopia is homing to some of

the most diverse flora and fauna in Africa.

Debre-Nazret (the study area) is endowed

with diversity of plants that are important

for honey production. Local farmers of

the area generate their income by deploy-

ing the beehives around the diversified

plants. The honey produced from the De-

bre-Nazret is white in colour, tasty and

high in demand.

20


Yellow Honey Red Honey

Thick raw White Honey Raw Honey in store

Local value added Honey Raw Honey packaging

21

Value added Honey products Raw honey in store

S. No

Scientific name

Family

Local Names

Life form

Source (P/N) Tigrigna Amharic

1 Acacia pilispina Fabaceae Cha’a ACQ-Grar T,S N,P

2 Achyranthes aspera Amaranthaceae Muchele Attuch H P,N

3 Agave sisalana Agavaceae Eqa Kacha H N,P

4 Aloe berhana Aloaceae Ire Iret H P,N

5 Andropogon abyssinicus Poaceae Demahale Beleme H P

6 Anethum graveolens Apiaceae Shilan ‘Nslal H P,N

7 Argemone Mexicana Papaveraceae Medafe-Tl Medafe H P

8 Azadirachta indica Meliaceae Nim T P,N

9 Becium grandiflorum Lamiaceae Tebeb Matosch H P,N

10 Carduus nyassanus Asteraceae dander kosheshla H P,N

11 Carica papaya Caricaceae Papaye Papaye T P,N

12 Carissa edulis Apocynaceae Agamsa Agam S P,N

13 Cordia africana Boraginaceae Awhi Wanza T N

14 Craterostigma plantagineum

Scrophulariaceae Fosi-Anqrbit Babun H P,N

15 Croton macrostachys Euphorbiaceae Tambuck Bsanna T P,N

16 Cynadon doctylon Poaceae Tehag H P

17 Dodonaea angustifolia Sapindaceae Tahses Kitkta S,T P,N

18 Erythrina abyssinica Fabaceae Zwaw Quara T P,N

19 Eucalyptus camaldulensis Myrtaceae Kelamitos Qey-bahrzaf

T P,N

20 Euclea racemosa subsp. schimperi

Ebenaceae Kuliow S P,N

21 Ficus vasta Moraceae Da’ro Warka T N

22 Guizotia abyssinica Asteraceae Nihug Nug H P,N

23 Hagenia abyssinica Rosaceae Habbi Koso T P,N

24 Helianthus annus Asteraceae Suf ferenji Suf H P,N

25 Heliotropium cinerascens Boraginaceae Aman gmel Sheko S P

26 Hypoestes forskaolii Acanthaceae Girbya H,S P,N

27 Leucaena leucocephala Fabaceae Lukina Lukina S P,N

28 Leucas abyssinica Lamiaceae Siwakerni S P,N

29 Mangifera indica Anacardiaceae Mango Mango T P N

30 Musa X paradisiaca Musaceae Muz Muz H P,N

31 Ocimum lamiifolium Lamiaceae Damakher Dama-Kesie

S,H P,N

Table : Honey bee flora of Debre-Nazret


22

Key: H= Herb, S= Shrub,T= Tree, P= Pollen, N= Nectar


Reference Cited

Admasu Addi and NuruAdgaba

(2002).Effect of honeybee pollination

on seed yield and oil content of Niger

(Guizotia abyssinica): Proceedings of

the first National Conference of

Ethiopian Beekeepers Association,

June 7-8, 1999, Addis Ababa, Ethio-

pia.pp.67-73.

Cane, J. H. and D. Schiffhauer. 2003.

Dose-response relationships between

pollinationand fruiting refine polli-

nator comparisons for cranberry

Vacciniummacrocarpon).American

Journal of Botany 90: 1425-1432.

Jacobs, F. Simoens, C. Graaf, D and Deck-

ers, J. (2006). Scope for non-wood

forest products income generation

from rehabilitation areas: focus on

beekeeping. Journal of theDry-

lands1: 171-185.

Saxena, S. Gautam, S and Sharma, A.

(2010).Food Chemistry.118, 391.

Lead Image: : http://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Template:POTD/2007-06-07

(http://www.flagstaffotos.com.au/

error_docs/update.htm)

23

Let’s Satiate our Taste Buds with Tora Vasanthi K. Akshaya Samethadka

Puttur 574201,South Canara Karnataka, India


During the monsoon season a wild plant

appears to be grown in profuse amount on

dry waste lands across India. Villagers col-

lect its tender leaf and prepare stir fry, a

dip and pakoras (snacks) and they believe

it protects them against fever during mon-

soons. Locally the plant is called Chakwad

in Hindi, Thagathe in Kannda, Tagari in

Tamil, Chakramandarkam in Malayalam .

Botanically the plant is knows as

Cassia tora and commonly known as

sickle senna, sickle pod, tora, coffee pod,

tovara, chakvad and foetid cassia. It is

mostly found in South- East Asia and the

South West Pacific as an important weed.

It is considered a wild weed, wild peanut

or pistache that has many healing benefits.

The plant is an herbaceous annual foetid

herb.

The plant can grow 30-90 centime-

ters high and consists of alternative pin-

nate leaves with leaflets mostly with three

opposite pairs that are obovate in shape

with a rounded tip. The leaves grow up to

3-4.5 centimeters long. The stems have

distinct smelling foliage when young. The

flowers are in pairs in axils of leaves with

five petals and pale yellow in colour.

24


Cassia tora yellow flowers occur in pairs

with stamens of unequal length producing

pods that are somewhat flattened or four

angled, 10–15 cm long and sickle shaped,

hence the common name sickle pod.

There are 30-50 seeds within a pod.

Casia tora is very stress tolerant and

is an easy plant to grow. In India, it occurs

as a wasteland rainy season weed. Its

flowering time is favourable after the

monsoon rain. C. tora can grow in dry soil

throughout tropical parts and high hills of

elevation (Himalayas) of up to 1800 me-

ters as well as the plains. It mainly grows

during the period of October to February.

The seed has vast soil reserves that can

remain viable for up to twenty years and

can produce up to 1000 emerged plants

per square meter following a precise ger-

minating rain. Once the seed has matured,

it is gathered and dried in the sun.

Food value

The seeds, roots and leaves from this plant

have been shown to be very beneficial to

the modern system of herbal medicines.

The young leaves can be cooked as a vege-

table while the roasted seeds are a good

substitute for coffee. Cassia tora tea is a

herbal, pure, natural and non-polluted

green health beverage. In the Republic of

Korea, it is believed to rejuvenate human

vision. Additionally, the tea has created a

new term “coffee-tea”, because of its mys-

terious but very rich taste and its coffee

aroma. It is made from 100% Cassia tora,

with no artificial colouring and no caf-

feine, and could be a healthier substitute

for coffee and sodas.

Medicinal Value

Manipal University in India also con-

firmed its anti viral and anti bacterial

properties. Due to its moist quality sweet

flavour and cold property it acts on liver

and large intestine, clear the heat and liver

fire. The herb acts as kapha and vata

dosha suppressant, acts as a nerve tonic.

Helps in maintaining normal level of cho-

lesterol

Since Cassia tora has an external ger-

micide and antiparasitic character, it has

been used for treating skin diseases such

as leprosy, ringworm, itching and psoria-

sis and also for snakebites. Other medici-

nal provisions from plant parts include

balm for arthritis using leaves of Cassia

tora.

Nutritional value

A natural gelling agent that has indus-

trial and food benefits is made from the

seed. The primary chemical constituents

of the seed include cinnamaldehyde, gum,

tannins, mannitol, coumarins and essen-

tial oils (aldehydes, eugenol and pinene).

25


The seeds also contain sugars, resins and

mucilage, among other elements.

Other uses

It is used as a natural pesticide in organic

farms and its powder is most commonly

26

used in the pet food industry. Alterna-

tively, it is mixed with guar gum for use in

mining and other industrial applications.

The seeds and leaves are also used to treat

skin disease and its seeds can be utilized

as a laxative.

RECIPE

Ingredients

Washed and cleaned Cassia tora leaves,

1/4 Spoonful of spilt or powdered white rice,

Shredded coconut,

1 Green/ Red chilli,

1/4 Teaspoon of mustard seeds oil.

Heat oil in a thick bottom pan, put 1 red chilli, mustard seeds. Once it crackles use curry

leaves (optional). Add one table spoon water and add spilt or powdered rice. Allow it to

cook for 1 minute. Now add Cassia tora leaves and cook for another 2 minutes, add salt

to taste, cook for another 1 minute. Add shredded coconut and cook for 1 more minute.

Now remove the pan from flame. Serve hot with rice or chapatti during lunch or dinners.


27

References Cited

Smita Jain and Patil, U.K. 2010. Phyto-

chemical and pharmachological profile

of Cassia tora, Indian Journal of Natural

products and resources, Vol 1(4): 430

-437

ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/

a1567e/a1567e05.pdf

Raw leaves and prepared Cassia tora dish

Prospects of Jhumming for Indigenous Tribes of Arunachal Pradesh, India

Tonlong Wangpan, Tapi Taka and Sumpam Tangjang Rajiv Gandhi University, Rono Hills, Doimukh-791 112, Arunachal Pradesh, India

The North East region has its own unique

combination of living species, habitats

and ecosystems, which together make up

its diversity rich resource. Environmental,

biological, social-cultural and economic

factors prevailing in the Indian Himalayan

region (IHR) have resulted in the evolu-

tion of diverse agro-ecosystems. Shifting

cultivation is the major agricultural prac-

tice of a large number of tribal popula-

tions of north-eastern Himalaya and is the

most extensive and highly organized land

use based on empirical knowledge accu-

mulated through centuries, in harmony

with the environment. Slash and burn ag-

riculture or shifting cultivation is a crucial

form of agriculture in undulating hilly ter-

rains of Arunachal Pradesh, North-

Eastern India. One hand the State has set-

tled agriculture whereas, on the other

hand constitutes very small portion which

are restricted only to river valleys. This

highly organized agro-ecosystem is trans-

ferred from their indigenous fore fathers


28


through centuries, in harmony with the

environment. Jhum is the form of agricul-

ture in which a piece of forest land is

slashed, burnt and cropped without tilling

the soil, and the cropped land is subse-

quently fallowed to attain preslashed for-

est status through natural succession. The

State is recognized for its rich biodiversity

and myriad of colorful tribes with their

rich cultures. Generally, indigenous popu-

lation of the state is agrarian and more

than 80% of the population is still using

agriculture as a source of livelihood and

sustenance. They are very rich in tradi-

tional knowledge regarding their peculiar

landscape and agriculture system curved

out from generations of experiments.

Shifting cultivation involves series of

steps such as selection of a site in slopes,

slashing, burning and clearing of vegeta-

tion followed by preparing field for grow-

ing crops of agricultural importance. Af-

ter completion of the cycle, the soil loses

its fertility and a fresh site is chosen for

cultivation and same cycle is repeated.

Nevertheless, the used plots is likely to

keep fallow for about 8-10 years till it re-

gains its fertility.

About 8-35 crops are grown together

and harvested sequentially from July to

December while the crop compositions

depends upon the sites and cycles length

of the shifting cultivation Mixed farming

is a general rule of jhumming where they

integrate cereals like rice (Oryza sativa

L.), millets (Setariaitalica L., Pani-

cummiliaceum L., Eleusine coracana L.

and Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R.Br.),

Maize (Zea mays L.); with other impor-

tant domesticated and subsidiary edible

plant species such as Topioca

(Manihotesculenta crantz.), Dioscorea

sp., Colocasia esculenta L., sweet potato

(Ipomoea batatas L. (Lam.), Ginger

(Zingiber officinale L.) and local vegeta-

bles such as pumpkin (Cucurbita mo-

schata Poir.), white gourd (Beninca sa-

hispidaThunb.), coriander (Coriandrum

sativum L.), soybean (Glycine max L.

(Merr.), brinjal ( Solanum melongena

Linn.), Solanum nigrum L., chilli pepper

(Capsicum spp.), bitter gourd

(Momordica charantia L.), tomato

(Lycopersicum esculentum L.), and ses-

ame (Sesamum indicum L.). The farming

of subsidiary crops and vegetables enable

29


Different landscape showing Jhum (Slash and Burn)

cultivation in Noth-East India.

30


them to sustain the lean season when

there is scarcity of food grains in granary.

The entire traditional society re-

volves around the taboos, beliefs, folktales

and legends. For instances, they perform

many rituals during the time of sowing

and harvesting within the family, among

villagers and also in the entire commu-

nity. However, the methods of farming

and rituals performed during the cultiva-

tion of crops may vary slightly with the

ethnic people and communities inhabiting

different social, physical, environmental

and climatic condition.

On the other hand, the reduction of

Jhum cycle in many regions from about

20-30 years to 2-3 years owing to mod-

ernization, human population growth and

increasing anthropogenic pressure are the

current burning issue. It is often consid-

ered responsible for causing soil erosion,

flash floods, landslide and degradation of

primary land resources, depletion of forest

resources and environment. Further, de-

pletion of vegetation also pushes many

important floral as well as faunal species

to extreme limits of extinction. However,

due to inhospitable hilly geographical fea-

tures, high rainfall, poor irrigation facili-

ties and inaccessibility of plain land, the

settled agriculture or terrace cultivation is

not successful in this area. Therefore in

spite of implementation of many govern-

ment policies and lack of other possible

alternates shifting cultivation still plays a

pivotal role and primary means for suste-

nance for thousands of villages in remote

areas.

The entire Jhumming process may

be assumed as a wise strategy planned and

prepared by the ethnic people which they

have learnt from years of experiment and

subsequently transferred to the next gen-

eration to present generation. Their strat-

egy focus on deriving maximum possible

sustainable output from the hilly slopes in

terms of production of adequate food

items from cultivation of crops, collection

of timber from Jhum fields, practice of

mix farming ensuring crop diversity, judi-

cious use of land for cultivation, perform-

ing community feasts for get-together,

rituals to ensure good harvest, ceremonies

and finally continuing the legends by

passing it to next generation. Besides

farming, activities such as fishing, hunting

and harvesting of non-timber forest prod-

ucts (NTFPs) indirectly helping in enhanc-

ing sustainability of Jhum among them.

The indigenous people considered

this system is not just as a means of liveli-

hood, but a way of life as it is deeply

rooted into their traditional and socio-

cultural norms. Thus, currently it is very

31


hard to eliminate this practice since it is

associated with the core of their culture

and socio-economic conditions.

However, effort may be given to en-

courage improved Jhum cultivation on

scientific foundation and adoption of eco-

friendly techniques. In this region, the ag-

ricultural practices may be assumed as an

assortment of inherited ideas, techniques

and knowledge that makes us more aware

about the predominant and successful

journey of Jhum in Arunachal Pradesh till

date.

Reference Cited

Ramakrishnan P S, Linking natural

resource management with sustainable

development of traditional mountain

societies, Trop Ecol, 44 (1) (2003), 54.

Sharma TC (1976). The pre-historic back-

ground of shifting cultivation in North-

East India. North-East Indian Council

for Social Science Research.

Singh N P, Singh A K & Patel D P, Shift-

ing cultivation and its alternate ap-

proaches towards sustainable develop-

ment in North East India, J North

Eastern Council, 20 (2) (2000), 30.

Thangam E S, Shifting Cultivation in

Arunachal Pradesh, Proc Agrofor-

estry, Imphal, India, 1979.

32

Sacred Groves: Linking Conservation with Religion in North East India

Manjil Hazarika1,2

1Institute of Paleoenvironment and Heritage Conservation, Department of Heritage Conservation,

Mekelle University, Ethiopia. 2Himalayan Languages Project, Institut für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Bern, Switzerland


India’s northeast along with the eastern

Himalayan region forms a distinctive

transitional zone between the Indian, the

Indo-Malayan and the Indo-Chinese bio-

geographical realms. Northeast India

forms a significant portion of two biodi-

versity hotspots among 34 hotspots of the

world: the Himalayan (covering Sikkim,

Bhutan, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh)

and the Indo-Burman (southern part of

the Brahmaputra river). This region is a

treasure trove of huge forests, natural

products and numerous species of mam-

mals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.

The recurrent news about the discovery of

a new plant or animal species, previously

unknown to science, strongly underscores

the urgency of scientific investigations in

this hidden and much neglected part of

the world.

The Indian Council of Agricultural

Research (ICAR) has identified this region

as a centre of rice germplasm, whilst the

National Bureau of Plant Genetic Re-

sources (NBPGR) has highlighted the re-

gion as being rich in the wild relatives of

domesticated crops. Almost 50% of the

total flowering plants in India have been

33


recorded here. The Regional Station of the

NBPGR at Shillong has collected 10,000

accessions of the wild relatives of crops

from the region. The estimated diversity

of some of the major food plants are: rice

(9650+), maize (15 varieties and 3 sub-

varieties), banana (14 species), Citrus (17

species + 52 varieties), sugarcane and

their wild relatives (15 species). Many of

the food crops have a rich variety of germ-

plasm such as upland rice (298), brinjal or

eggplant (37), ginger (60), chilly (68),

maize (674), turmeric (60), grain legumes

(200), sweet potato (5), cucurbits (76),

taros (250) and yams (242).

Russian scientist Nikolai Ivanovich

Vavilov identified several regions of the

world as original centres for domestica-

tion of a number of plants. N.E. India is a

part of such Vavilovian centres of biodi-

versity and is considered by the botanist

as the place of origin of many important

cultivated plant species and some domes-

ticated animals. It is also well known for

high endemism of rare flora and unique

fauna. The region has been called as the

cradle of flowering plants because of its

diversified angiosperm flora. Four out of

26 micro-endemic centres in India are

found here. More than 5000 plant species

have been reported from this region, and

the Northeast harbours about 132 out of

686 wild relatives of crops reported from

the Indian subcontinent. Moreover, one

study reveals that out of 800 species of

food plants occurring in the whole of In-

dia, about 300 species occur in the eastern

Himalayan region. This wide diversity of

flora forms a part of the rich natural heri-

tage of Northeast India.

Most textbooks would define heritage

as anything which someone wishes to con-

serve or collect. It refers to something that

we inherit and that we want to preserve. It

is the legacy from the past, what we live

with today, and what we pass on to future

generations. The whole gamut of heritage

can be divided into two broad types:

natural and cultural. Cultural heritage is

not only limited to the material manifesta-

tions such as monuments and other ar-

chaeological and historical structures

which have been build and preserved over

a period of time. It also encompasses the

living expressions and the traditions that

countless groups and communities of dif-

ferent parts of the world have inherited

from their forefathers and transmit to

their descendants.

The natural heritage encompasses

the natural environment, including the

surrounding flora and fauna, natural sites

having cultural significance such as cul-

tural landscape, physical, biological and

34


certain age-old rules and regulations

strictly followed by the indigenous com-

munities for maintaining the ecological

balance of the biodiversity. Hence, the re-

gion may be considered to be an arche-

typal region for understanding man and

his relationship to the environment in a

systemic cultural context.

Northeast India is spread across over

262,000 km2 and comprises the eight In-

dian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,

Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,

Sikkim and Tripura. This vast region is

also known for ethno-linguistic and cul-

tural diversity. It is an ethnic mosaic con-

sisting of different tribal groups of various

ethnic stocks, speaking diverse languages,

maintaining their traditional customs and

practices, having self-sufficient econo-

mies, and thus creating a multicultural

constellation of tribes and peoples. This

region harbours more than 130 major

tribal communities out of the total of 427

tribal communities found in India.

Many of the tribes observe certain

taboos in conserving wild resources, as

recorded in their folklore and myths.

These cultural beliefs and customs reveal a

deep respect for the natural world. For ex-

ample, small patches of virgin forest are

preserved by indigenous communities in

keeping with their religious beliefs. This

practice provides a great example of

and geological formations. Areas with rich

biodiversity and habitats of threatened

plants and animal species have value on

scientific or aesthetic grounds or from a

conservation perspective. In view of the

identification and protection of represen-

tative wild habitats across all the ecosys-

tems in India, including the forests, the

Government of India has created a net-

work of 668 Protected Areas comprising

102 National Parks, 515 Wildlife Sanctuar-

ies, 47 Conservation Reserves and 4 Com-

munity Reserves. Five of the Protected Ar-

eas have been declared by the UNESCO to

be World Heritage Sites.

Out of the total area falling within

the territory of Northeast India, more

than 60 percent of the geographical area is

under forest cover. Most of the people re-

siding in and around the natural ecosys-

tems and protected areas exploit the wild-

life for satiating their needs for sustenance

and shelter. Apart from this recently

adopted government initiatives; there are

35


the town of Jowai in the Jaintia Hills, are

used by the Jaintia tribe to host their an-

nual religious festival Beh dein khlam. Ia-

long and Raliang are other well-known sa-

cred groves of the Jaintia Hills.

The sacred groves, whether they be-

long to an individual, a clan or the com-

munity as a whole, are traditionally man-

aged by a religious head or by a person en-

trusted with the role of custodian in accor-

dance with customary religious practice,

such as the Lyngdoh amongst the Khasi

and the Doloi amongst the Jaintia. The

terms for sacred grove in the Jaintia,

Khasi and Garo languages are Khloo U

Blai, Law Kyntang and Asong Kusi respec-

tively.

The sacred groves of the Meghalaya

are of three types such as the Law Lyng-

doh ‘forest of the priests’, the Law Niam

‘ritual forests’ and the Law kyntang

‘forests of the clan’. There are several tra-

ditional institutions that manage commu-

nity forests, whereby the duty is passed on

from one generation to the next. People in

Nagaland have until recently worshipped

the sylvan spirits of their sacred groves by

offering animals and eggs as sacrifice. The

associated taboos and beliefs related with

these groves have prevented not only the

felling of trees, but even the lopping off

branches, twigs and leaves or the removal

of dried wood. Violating these rules is

community awareness and involvement

for the conservation of natural resources

through the native cultural practice in

Northeast India of instituting and respect-

ing a sacred grove.

A sacred grove is created when a

patch of forest near the village is declared

sacred so that it must be protected on reli-

gious and cultural grounds. The sacred

grove and even individual trees or animals

may be designated for preservation

through this traditional practice. There

are as many as 79 sacred groves in the

Meghalaya, owned by individuals, clans or

communities, and under direct control of

the clan or village councils. The religious

beliefs associated with sacred groves are

that certain deities reside in these forests.

In this way, traditional wisdom contrib-

utes to forest protection and the conserva-

tion of biodiversity in the region.

The institution of the sacred grove is

common to most of the ethnic groups of

Northeast India. There are certain reli-

gious practices observed by the Meithei of

Manipur to propitiate forest deities such

as Lai Harouba, a ritual celebrated in hon-

our of the sylvan deities or Umanglais,

who are believed to protect them from

sickness, harm and natural disaster. For

example, the sacred groves which go by

the names of Khloo Paiu Ram Pyrthai,

Urkhla, and Khloo Langdoh, located near

36


believed to provoke the presiding deity

who may punish the offender. The Bodo-

Koch language communities such as the

Deori, Tiwa, Sonowal Kachari and Rabha

live on the Brahmaputra plains rather

than in the hills, but they too maintain sa-

cred groves which they call thaan. In some

areas, these groves are regarded to be the

abode of the spirits of the ancestors, and

they are accordingly used as burial groves.

The practice of maintaining these sa-

cred groves is an indigenous institution

which has the effect of conserving forest

areas by local inhabitants. Sacred groves

are also known as shrine forests, and

strong cultural and traditional values are

associated with them. In view of the wide-

spread nature of the institution and the

complexity of the way that this institution

is embedded in the local belief systems,

some scholars believe that this form of

‘nature worship’ is of hoary antiquity. As

evinced by the sacred grove institution,

the prudent utilisation of forest products

for sustainable development has been im-

plicitly understood by the inhabitants of

the Northeast through their long and inti-

mate association with their natural envi-

ronment.

Against this backdrop, it may be in-

ferred that the Northeast has been able to

maintain the richness of its biological re-

sources until recently, in part due to the

reverence and involvement of the local in-

habitants in the maintenance of a recipro-

cal relationship between man and his en-

vironment. In recent years, due to an in-

crease of accessibility and the demand for

forest products such as timber and bam-

boo, considerable ecological degradation

has set in throughout the Northeast in

pace with growing economic development.

Demographic realities and the opening up

of the Northeast have destroyed the sacred

relationship between man and his envi-

ronment utmost.

To sum up, the exploitation of the

natural environment through sustainable

utilisation of the resources, which the eco-

system affords, is in keeping with the body

of traditional knowledge accumulated over

generations. The taboos and customary

laws regarding the exploitation of natural

resources show their respect towards na-

ture. The institutions of sacred groves,

which are believed to be the residence of

forest deities, indicate the involvement of

the community in sustainable exploitation

37


Khumbongmayum, A.D., M.I. Khan and

R.S. Tripathi. 2005. Sacred groves of

Manipur, Northeast India: Biodiversity

Value, Status and Strategies for their

Conservation. Biodiversity and Con-

servation 14: 1541–1582.

Syngai, D. 1999. Sacred Groves of Megha-

laya, In Biodiversity- North East India

Perspectives, eds. B. Kharbuli, D.

Syiem, and H. Kayang, 70-76. Shillong:

North Eastern Biodiversity Research

Cell, North-Eastern Hill University.

Tiwari, B.K., S.K. Barik and R.S. Tripathi,

1998. Biodiversity Value, Status, and

Strategies for Conservation of Sacred

Groves of Meghalaya, India. Ecosystem

Health 4: 20-32.

Tripathi, R.S. 2005. Sacred Groves of

North-East India and their Floristic

Richness and Significance in Biodiver-

sity Conservation. EnviroNews

(Newsletter of ISEB India) 11 (3).

Upadhaya, K., H.N. Pandey, P.S. Law and

R.S. Tripathi. 2003. Tree Diversity in

Sacred Groves of the Jaintia Hills in

Meghalaya, Northeast India. Biodiver-

sity and Conservation 12: 583–597.

through the traditional laws regarding the

prohibition on the use of certain re-

sources. Such indigenous practices of pre-

serving natural heritage appear to be of

great antiquity and needs detailed investi-

gations by natural scientists and heritage

professionals.

Reference Cited

Barua, I. 2009. Conservation and Man-

agement of Community and Natural

Resources: A Case Study from North

East India. Studies of Tribes and Tri-

bals 7(1): 39-46.

Gupta, A. and K. Guha. 2002. Tradition

and Conservation in Northeastern In-

dia: An Ethical Analysis. Eubios Jour-

nal of Asian and International Bio-

ethics 12: 15-18.

Jamir, S.A. and H.N. Pandey. 2003. Vas-

cular Plant Diversity in the Sacred

Groves of Jaintia Hills in Northeast

India. Biodiversity and Conservation

12: 1497–1510.

Khan, M.L., A.D. Khumbongmayum and

R.S. Tripathi. 2008. The Sacred Groves

and Their Significance in Conserving

Biodiversity - An Overview. Interna-

tional Journal of Ecology and Envi-

ronmental Sciences 34 (3): 277-291.

38

Community Seed Bank: Conserving Wild

Edible Diversity of Himalayas D. Dhyani

Society for Conserving Planet And Life, Srinagar Gahrwal, 246174, India


Hundreds of millions of poor people

around the world depend directly or indi-

rectly on forests for their livelihoods and

subsistence. There is huge demand of

natural food products to fulfil nutritional

requirements of many living amid forests

in remote and inaccessible tracts. Most of

the times nutritional and food security

questions of communities especially

dwelling in mountains are ignored or ap-

propriately answered. Indian Himalayan

Region (IHR) is tough, fragile with undu-

lating terrain that faces crucial but the

pertinent issue related to food security

and poverty.

Garhwal part of IHR is home to a va-

riety of tribal population and a hub of a

variety of wild fruits, berries, ferns, yams,

roots, green leafy edibles, seeds etc. Most

of the villages of Garhwal Himalaya don’t

have organized market supplies hence; lo-

cals use wild fruits and vegetables as a ma-

jor source of their food source, nutrition

and medicinal support. Most of them are

not available in the markets and if col-

lected in large quantity from forests are

o 39


conservation of Seabuckthorn in Himala-

yas.

Under the umbrella of this project I

am developing seed bank of lesser known

wild edibles through participation of local

Bhotiya indo mongoloid tribal community

in Tolma. Tolma village mainly inhabited

by tribal community, is important to be

quoted because people have immense

knowledge about natural resources but in

last few years people are leaving their vil-

lage for livelihood needs.

Developing a seed bank of lesser

known wild edibles of Himalayan region is

an interesting and innovative part of the

project that is planned to be linked to

are bartered. Lesser possibilities for devel-

opment, economy generation, migration

of locals in Garhwal for education and em-

ployment, is leading to erosion of tradi-

tional and indigenous use practices linked

with utilization of wild edibles. Most of

the seasons many of these wild edibles go

waste without any proper utilization by

locals due to lack of proper know how.

I am leading a project on Conserving

Lesser Known Wild Edible Biodiversity

and Indigenous Traditional Knowledge of

Locals in North Istern Himalayas, India,

funded by Rufford Small Grant, UK in

Tolma village of Nanda Devi Biosphere

Reserve after a long stint of research and

40 Group meeting to discuss importance of seed bank


41

Fruits of Viburnum cotinifolium Micro seeds of Rubus ellipticus

Fruits of Berberis aristata Hard coat seeds of Prunus persica

Field survey for wild edibles Syzygium cumini still raw on trees

Rosa webbiana in flowering stage Prunus armenica on tree

http://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Smoketree%20Leaved%20Viburnum.html


42

Community is helping with collection

of seeds and developing a seed bank of

lesser known wild edibles in Suraithota

village in Nanda Devi Biosphere. Capacity

building programmes are being organised

and on ground training is imparted to lo-

cals for bio-prospecting of semi-domestic

fruits and some lesser known underutil-

ised wild edibles to enhance the under-

standing about value added products and

how they can be developed by sustainable

utilization for initiating conservation.

Local mapping of lesser known wild

edibles present in the region, their con-

sumption pattern Local mapping of

national seed repository of lesser known

plants on the lines of Kew Botanical Gar-

den Seed Bank Project. This Innovative

approach also includes involving locals,

developing literary material in local lan-

guage for school going children.

My work includes regular inventori-

zation, monitoring of forests for wild edi-

bles by visiting the forests, pastures and

alpines at a regular interval, collection of

seeds, documentation of knowledge etc.

General meetings and valuable discussion

along with field visits to forests with locals

especially elders, women and children are

important involvements with this project.


wild edible plants in local nursery is also

promoted under ex-situ conservation ef-

forts.

This project at large will communi-

cate the value of food security by utilizing

cost effective local resources and linking

conservation with livelihood enhancement

approach. I trying to endorse low cost, lo-

cal food products by using wild edibles so,

that food mile are reduced, low cost food

practices are initiated and food security

and poverty issues are answered.

lesser known wild edibles present in the

region, their consumption pattern and ex-

tent of usage is also recorded to develop

detailed statistics and pressure agents on

particular wild edibles in forests. Children

of the village are motivated to explore

their own forests, planning by having eco-

clubs with diverse interesting efforts for

having a clear understanding of wild edi-

ble diversity and how they can ensure in-

situ as well as ex-situ conservation of

these species by their own small efforts.

Technical knowhow of propagating these

43

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