The Contribution of Sense of Place to Shifting Cultivation Sustenance: Evidence from West Garo Hills, North East India

Nowadays, sense of place is increasingly becoming prevalent in environmental research. It is an interesting concept to study both attachment and emotional relationships that individuals or groups hold for a specific place. In order to understand such bonds to forested landscape and shifting cultivation (SC) among tribal communities, we employed a four-dimensional place attachment model and empirically tested it using factor analysis. The results of this study revealed that besides socio-economic factors which affect the bonds to a place and the place-based practice, strong connections with the natural environment and lack of alternative occupations are significant factors which might explain tribal dependence to the land and SC. Indeed, sense of place would allow a better understanding of territorial issues and favour place management.