DEPLETION OF COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION: A MICRO STUDY IN NORTH-EAST INDIA

Abstract

Forest resources act as life supporting resources in North-Eastern part of India. It influences the life and lore of the people with rich culture, traditions, ethos and indigenous knowledge systems for conservation and its sustainable use. However, with the increasing population growth , unhindered immigration, expansion of agriculture, clearance of forests for various purposes, urbanization and other biotic pressures such as grazing by cattle and goat, cutting of timber and fuel wood, collection of rare and ornamental plants for trade, collection of medicinal plants, cane bamboos and other minor forest produces, resource-base of the region have gradually been depleted and threatenedthe existences of large number of plant species in the region. Based on a large scale primary survey covering 19 villages and 447 households of two districts of Arunachal Pradesh , a State in North East India, this paper attempts to make an in depth analysis of the role of common property forest resources in the lives of autochthons . The study also attempts to quantify the extent of depletion of common property resources and its impact on ecological sustainability of the region. The determinants of common property forest depletion enable to suggest for an environmentally sustainable management of common property forest resources which would not only help to prevent the resources degradation and rural poverty but will also conserve the commons from over-exploitation.