GOOD PRACTICES OF WATERSHED DEVELOPMENT

IN NAGALAND

NAGALAND AT GLANCE

Location : Extreme NE region of India Geographical Area : 15,579 Sq. Km Population : 2 millions Density of population :120 per sq. km. People : 16 major tribes, each having their

own distinctive dialect, custom and traditions

Literacy Rate : 67.11% Districts : 11 No. of Blocks : 52 Climate : Sub-tropical to sub-

temperate Annual Rainfall : 2000 mm – 2500 mm Altitude :200 to 3800 meters

82% of the population live in villages. 92% of land owned by community & individuals. Only about 5% are landless Govt. owns only 7% of the total area. Per Capita Income : Rs. 19,554 Rich in biodiversity but severely degrading The state is faced with Inherent constraint of bio-

physical and socio-economic problems

• 75% of Nagas live on subsistence jhum cultivation• An average farmer cultivates 2 fields at a time• About 60-70 crops are cultivated in a single jhumfield• Average jhum cycle is 6-8 years

• Jhumming has become unsustainable under increasing population pressure and shorter rotations

• Most families are unable to produce sufficient food to fulfill their needs

Jhumming - A way of life for the tribal Nagas.

Thus strategy is not to change the system but to find solution within the system.

PLANTATION AS A KEY ACTIVITY FOR WATERSHED TREATMENT – A GOOD PRACTICE

REASONS High dependence on jhumming Hilly terrain High rainfall Unstable land Vegetative cover quotient Act as natural barrier to arrest soil & water

erosion Plantation as a natural choice of the people Provides economic as well as environmental

benefit

MAIN PLANTATIONS Trees (Having both commercial as well as

environmental benefit) Horticultural crops (Orange, Passion fruit,

Pineapple, Banana) Plantation crops (Rubber, Tea, Arecanut,

Sugarcane)SUBSIDIARY CROPS/LIVELIHOOD COMPONENTS ALONG WITH PLANTATION

• MAP• Black pepper• Betelvine• Ginger, Turmeric etc• Pisciculture• Beekeeping

STRATEGY ADOPTED Plantation

programmes in sync with the current jhum system

Integrating cash crops under the plantations for sustenance

Bringing convergence with other schemes for sustainable development

Linking them to market

Making it a permanent settled agriculture

Teak plantation inter-cropped with Homalomena aromatica (Suganthmandri) Chungtiayimsen,

Mokokchung-III

Black pepper on teak tree at Lakhuti, IWDP Wokha-II

Tea plantation at Lio-Longidang (IWDP Wokha-IV)

CONVERGENCE OF IWDP WITH STATE SCHEME :

i) Patchauli (MAP) planted under Arecanut trees ii) Distillation machine installed iii) Areca leaf plate making machine

IWDP : Rubber Plantation at Chungtia Village, Mokokchung-IIState Fund : Rubber sheet roller & Smoke house

Sugarcane cultivators

ofKejanglwa

village (IWDP Peren-I)Provided

withJuice

extraction machines &

tools for making

molasses

Left : Cardamom capsules freshly harvested

Right : Driers being distributed to growers

CARDAMOM PLANTATION UNDER

IWDP MON-IV

Integrating Beekeeping under Plantations – A common activity (bee hives under orange plantation, Chingmei Village (IWDP Tuensang-IV)

IWDP ACTIVITY RESULTED IN LAUNCHING 2 STATE MISSIONS :

1. Nagaland Bio-Resource Mission (NBRM)

2. Nagaland Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM)

– Government’s policy support

– Made the Govt. realize their immense potentials & urgency to promote & develop the two sectors

– All activities are implemented in a mission mode

For everything that has happened, there are so much that has not.

It is hoped that Watershed program will continue to be the growth engine for sustainable development of Jhumlands in Nagaland

THANK YOU