The Study Area

Abstract

The seven states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura make up north east India. The region spreads over 255,037 km² or about 7.7 % of India’s total geographical area. The relief is rugged with plateaus, hills and mountains dominating. Level lowlands are at a premium covering only 27 % of the area. Rainfall is torrential with 6,300 mm annually a routine occurrence in the Cherrapunji area. In the rest of the region, average annual precipitation ranges from 1,000 to over 4,000 mm with the bulk of it occurring during the monsoon months of June to October. Stemming from this a luxuriant tropical vegetation ranging from alpine, subtropical pine and montane to evergreen and moist deciduous thrives making the region a global biodiversity hotspot. The focus of development in has centred around its primary resource base, largely around tea, timber and petroleum. What little else exists in the name of development has been concentrated in the urban landscapes. It is not surprising that in the region’s rural areas a dependence on natural resources—forests in particular—exists and there is not much option than to exploit the region’s forest resources.