In assam shifting cultivation is practised in

The practice of shifting cultivation has been increased due to an increase in population and is affecting the global issues, such as land use/land cover, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation, etc. In this study, the area of shifting cultivation lands in 1996, 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 were analyzed in West Karbi Anglong district of Assam by using time series imagery of Landsat Thematic Mapper, Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus, and Operational Land Imagery with 30 m. The results showed that, from 1996 to 2016 the area under shifting cultivation has been increased from 149 to 215 km 2, and was mainly distributed at elevations of 250–500 and 500–750 m and on slopes of < 10°, 10°–20° and 20°–30°. The area under permanent cultivation was increased from 10 to 72 km 2. • Aggarwal, R., Kumar, A., Raju, P. L. N., & Krishna Murthy, Y. V. N. (2014). Gaussian kernel based classification approach for wheat identification. ISPRS The International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, XL-8, 671–676. • Bera, A., & Namasudra, P. (2016). Impact of shifting cultivation on the environmental changes in Gumti River Basin, Tripura. International Journal of Recent Scientific Research, 7, 11771–11774. • Deka, P. K., & Dinesh, S. (2010). Shifting cultivation and its effects in regarding of perspective in Northern India. International Journal of Commerce and Business Management, 3, 157–165. • Healey, S. P., Cohen, W. B., Zhiqiang, Y., & Krankina, O. N....

Identifying shifting cultivation areas and assessing their spatio-temporal dynamics are essential in framing climate-adaptive policies for efficient forest management and agriculture practices for the benefit of people. The current study attempts to develop an alternative approach to classify the shifting cultivation areas using an ensemble technique, integrating multiple spectral indices in three states of northeast India (NEI), such as Assam, Manipur, and Meghalaya. The adopted approach integrates green cover and leaf water content changes during shifting cultivation land preparation in Landsat imagery. The deforested burned area patches were identified based on threshold values using Landsat data-derived indices on vegetation, burned area and leaf water, and digital elevation model (DEM). The ensemble approach provided shifting cultivation maps with good overall accuracy (> 83%). The maximum shifting cultivation area was observed in Assam (126.87 km 2), followed by Meghalaya (51.53 km 2) and Manipur (46.04 km 2) in 2016. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and NDVI difference performed better than other vegetation indices. The ensemble approach can be applied in other regions with minor modifications in threshold values, thus having the potential for accounting to shifting cultivation dynamics on an operational basis. Future research may include blending local traditional knowledge and modern scientific solutions for improved forest and land resources plan...

Overemphasis on modern agronomical practices has led to the belief that jhum (shifting cultivation) is a primitive method used in north-east India. This has also meant the superimposition of an alternative model without any appreciation of the traditional knowledge system of the indigenous people or any effort towards improving the existing method within their cultural framework. The Economic and Political Weekly, published from Mumbai, is an Indian institution which enjoys a global reputation for excellence in independent scholarship and critical inquiry. First published in 1949 as the Economic Weekly and since 1966 as the Economic and Political Weekly, EPW, as the journal is popularly known, occupies a special place in the intellectual history of independent India. For more than five decades EPW has remained a unique forum that week after week has brought together academics, researchers, policy makers, independent thinkers, members of non-governmental organisations and political activists for debates straddling economics, politics, sociology, culture, the environment and numerous other disciplines. First published in 1949 as the Economic Weekly and since 1966 as the Economic and Political Weekly, EPW, as the journal is popularly known, occupies a special place in the intellectual history of independent India. For more than five decades EPW has remained a unique forum that week after week has brought together academics, researchers, policy makers, independent thinkers, me...

Representative image of Kangpokpi, Senapati district in Manipur, India, where shifting cultivation used to take place. Photo: ICIMOD Kathmandu/Flickr (CC BY-NC 2.0) Shifting cultivation continues to be a predominant agricultural practice in many parts of India, despite state discouragement and multipronged efforts to wean indigenous communities away from it. Their land, due to remoteness, poor access to markets and undulating terrain, leaves them with few alternatives. In northeast India, a The process consists of cultivating land temporarily and then abandoning it – usually for a period of one to two decades so the soil recuperates its fertility and reverts to its natural state. Because it involves the felling of trees for temporary cultivation, it is blamed for deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity, all contributors to global climate change. However, contrary to this popular notion held by state officials and other agencies, the practice does provide a sustainable means of livelihood and food security to the communities that practice it. The problem lies in both its commercialisation and production pressures arising from a human-population increase, leading to a reduction in fallow length – the period between two cultivation phases. Also read: In a Shifting cultivation policies: Balancing environmental and social sustainability (2017), an outline of the role of government and local institutions in regulating shifting cultivation over time has been describe...