Assessment of Shifting Cultivation in the Context of Anthropogenic Environmental Burden in Eastern Himalaya

Abstract

In the eastern Himalayan area, shifting farming is very common. Approximately 83% of the area is being farmed in a shifting manner. In India, slash-and-burn agriculture, or “jhum” farming, is the principal kind of shifting cultivation. It is primarily the most ancient traditional culture of cultivating. The whole northeastern Himalayan region, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura, is the research area for this essay. This report largely draws on secondary data collecting and already published research papers and publications. This paper's major objective is to categorize the research region into various altitudes and to represent the present scenario of the seven different states of the north east region. The literature that has been examined has mostly been used to analyze the fundamental social aspect and traits of this form of horticulture as well as government policy initiatives. Additionally, to assess the loss of biodiversity as well as the overall area under cultivation. My focus is on emphasizing that this kind of farming cannot be a way of life in the present since it does not promote sustainable development need to look at alternatives to this kind of farming. And because multiple assessments will be made, the results may show that as the population grows, the locals are forced to shorten the period of time they spend shifting agriculture as a result of the demand for resources and today, much other stable farming may be done in that height, especially when it comes to income crops.