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Is Rubber Monoculture Banishing Agrobiodiversity and Happiness? Evidences from Shifting Cultivation Landscape of Tripura, Northeast India


Affiliations
1 College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat 791 102, India
2 Division of Agricultural Extension, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-I, ICAR, New Delhi 110 012, India
3 ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur 278 002, India
4 ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur 278 002, India
 

Natural environmental settings, in general, are considered by humans as the ideal ambience which makes them happy and reinvigorated especially within their mental realm. If this is the case, can we assume that all green spaces are synonymous to augmenting happiness? Biodiversity is expressed in terms of a system having number and abundance of different species. For resilience of various ecosystem services like food production, climate regulation, and pest management to take place, prevalence of such biodiversity is essential which can substantially contribute to sustained human well-being. In this study, we assessed the status of agrobiodiversity and subjective well-being of an indigenous community amidst the transition from shifting cultivation (SC) to monoculture of natural rubber (NR). Sampling the respondents from 18 villages of Dhalai, Tripura, a remotely located district in northeast India and bordered by Bangladesh, we used mixed methods research for in depth investigation. Findings revealed that in the SC landscape of study area, the cultivated crop species and livestock breeds were being largely replaced by encroachment from rubber plantation. We documented only 19 crop species on such a landscape which is otherwise known for its vast agrobiodiversity in the tropics. This kind of transition from SC to NR which is usually supported by the government development interventions, has severely affected the ecosystem services of such landscapes and banishing happiness from the indigenous communities, as perceived by them. Hence stabilization of rich agrobiodiversity and simultaneously ensuring the peoples’ well-being is the only potential alternative for development in the region.

Keywords

Agrobiodiversity, Indigenous Community, Northeast India, Rubber Plantation, Shifting Cultivation Landscape.
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  • Is Rubber Monoculture Banishing Agrobiodiversity and Happiness? Evidences from Shifting Cultivation Landscape of Tripura, Northeast India

Abstract Views: 363  |  PDF Views: 123

Authors

D. K. Pandey
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat 791 102, India
P. Adhiguru
Division of Agricultural Extension, Krishi Anusandhan Bhavan-I, ICAR, New Delhi 110 012, India
Uma Sah
ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur 278 002, India
N. Devachandra
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat 791 102, India
S. K. Dubey
ICAR-Agricultural Technology Application Research Institute, Kanpur 278 002, India
Chandra Deo
College of Horticulture and Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat 791 102, India

Abstract


Natural environmental settings, in general, are considered by humans as the ideal ambience which makes them happy and reinvigorated especially within their mental realm. If this is the case, can we assume that all green spaces are synonymous to augmenting happiness? Biodiversity is expressed in terms of a system having number and abundance of different species. For resilience of various ecosystem services like food production, climate regulation, and pest management to take place, prevalence of such biodiversity is essential which can substantially contribute to sustained human well-being. In this study, we assessed the status of agrobiodiversity and subjective well-being of an indigenous community amidst the transition from shifting cultivation (SC) to monoculture of natural rubber (NR). Sampling the respondents from 18 villages of Dhalai, Tripura, a remotely located district in northeast India and bordered by Bangladesh, we used mixed methods research for in depth investigation. Findings revealed that in the SC landscape of study area, the cultivated crop species and livestock breeds were being largely replaced by encroachment from rubber plantation. We documented only 19 crop species on such a landscape which is otherwise known for its vast agrobiodiversity in the tropics. This kind of transition from SC to NR which is usually supported by the government development interventions, has severely affected the ecosystem services of such landscapes and banishing happiness from the indigenous communities, as perceived by them. Hence stabilization of rich agrobiodiversity and simultaneously ensuring the peoples’ well-being is the only potential alternative for development in the region.

Keywords


Agrobiodiversity, Indigenous Community, Northeast India, Rubber Plantation, Shifting Cultivation Landscape.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv118%2Fi1%2F108-113