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Economic and Ecological Implications of Shifting Cultivation in Mizoram, India

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ENVSCIENCE))

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Abstract

Shifting cultivation in Mizoram is a century-old practice, a major source of livelihood and a way of life of the rural people. Although, arable land including Jhum plots are scarce (5.45% of the total geographical area) yet, about 54% of rural people are engaged in practicing shifting cultivation. The study on economic and ecological implications of shifting cultivation in Mizoram revealed that the output from the traditionally cultivated Jhum plots are not enough to feed the rural people and to attain food security. On the other hand, its ecological implications are enormous in the forms of land degradation and forest depletion. In this chapter, defining shifting cultivation, characteristics of shifting cultivation, literature review, major objectives of the study, data collection and survey methods, organization of the study, and major research findings and the output of the study are illustrated.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The author hired a M.Sc. passed student, who belongs to the Jhumia community and knows local language for collecting data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Resource Management, Mizoram University (A Central University), Aizawl, Mizoram, India

    Vishwambhar Prasad Sati

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Correspondence to Vishwambhar Prasad Sati .

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Sati, V.P. (2020). Introductions. In: Economic and Ecological Implications of Shifting Cultivation in Mizoram, India. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36602-5_1

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