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The Northeastern states share 98 per cent
of their boundaries with Myanmar, Bangladesh,
Nepal, Bhutan and China. The northeast is
at best looked upon as a far-flung frontier
region connected to the rest of India by
a narrow 22-km corridor in Assam. The region,
consisting of eight states - Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland,
Sikkim, and Tripura, is socially, culturally,
and politically very dynamic and complex.
The region occupies 262,179 square kilometres,
with a population of 39 million (2001 Census)
out of which 88 per cent are rural based.
Subsistence agriculture is the dominant
employment provider in the region engaging
about 80 per cent of its population. The
region has been identified as one of the
biodiversity hot spot regions in the world.
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Barring 80 per cent of Assam and about
half of Tripura, the entire northeast region
is situated on hilly terrain. While settled
cultivation is practiced in the plains,
shifting cultivation, locally known as jhum,
is the predominant agricultural practice
for most communities in the hilly regions.
In moderation and if practiced correctly,
jhum is a sustainable system, but
it has increasingly not only failed to meet
yearly food requirements, but has put pressure
on the fragile ecosystem.
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| Geographical spread
of projects |
All state governments in the Northeast
are the largest employers. Only a handful
of private sector jobs are available, which
are concentrated in Assam. The region also
suffers from rising unemployment among the
educated youth, which poses a serious threat
to the social, political, and economic stability
of the region. Some of the problems that
affect a number of the young people in the
region, including drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and
ongoing insurgency, can also be attributed
to the lack of employment opportunities
and development in the region.
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The North East Initiative (NEI)
The North East Initiative was launched
in 2008 to address livelihoods issues of
rural communities in the region. The initiative
aims to help enhance livelihood opportunities
through improved agriculture and sustainable
use of natural resources in North East India
and facilitate dissemination of knowledge
and expertise on a range of issues that
can lead to enhanced sustainability and
greater stability of the social systems
of the region. In the first phase, the states
of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland
have been identified for NEI.
Key focus areas of the North East Initiative:
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Better land use for better agriculture:
More than two-thirds of the region
is mountainous and hilly and despite
intensive labour inputs, the yield
is comparatively low in the hilly
areas due to the difficult terrain,
high runoff, and soil erosion.
The Trusts will work towards supporting
appropriate water management technology
for irrigation for hilly terrains,
improving traditional irrigation structures
and also look at water and soil management
in jhum fields. All projects
will be carried out in collaboration
with local agencies.
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Diversified on-farm and off-farm
income generation:
Due to the fragile ecology and
the poor infrastructure of the region,
promoting sustainable alternate sources
of livelihood through livestock and
handicrafts, which are traditionally
practised and have significant cultural
value, is critical.
There is also a felt need to increase
and diversify the sources of income
to help arrest migration especially
of the youth from villages to urban
towns and reduce dependence on the
government for employment. The region
has a favourable climate for cultivation
of vegetables, fruits and spices,
which needs to be encouraged by investing
in marketing linkages and post-harvest
facilities.
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Natural Resource Management (NRM):
In Northeast India, there is an
urgent need for actions that promote
conservation and sustainable use of
the region’s fragile forest and
watersheds. The Trusts will support
initiatives that strengthen incentives
for communities to utilise forest
resources in a sustainable way.
Initiatives in this area will try
to aim at enabling communities to
develop sustainable resource management
models that balance biodiversity conservation
and livelihood issues of the communities.
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