Impacts of Jhuming/Deforestation in Manipur

In the last two decades the State has been witnessing various environmental degradations due to various factors arising out of human interference including mass Jhuming in the Hilly areas as well as some portion of the valley areas. Although the impacts of Jhuming are not felt by the mass for lack of awareness, it is evident that Jhuming/de-forestation is leading to a number of ecological catastrophes like frequent occurrence of landslide and mud slide in the hills of Manipur and causing major health hazards to the people of the state in particular and the North Eastern state as a whole. With the onset of rainy season every year flash floods, mudslide, soil and land degradation and loss of fertile top soil are becoming regular happenings.  

It is pertinent to mention here the incident of mudslide at Senapati District in the month of July, 2004. There had been no such incident of this magnitude ever recorded in the history of Manipur that devastated lives of many people of the district. It is of the view that it was the fall out of Mass Jhuming/deforestation in the hill districts.The effect of jhumming cultivation can also be clearly seen from the quality and quantity of water from streams and rivulets. It was found out that the water of streams in the area where jhumming cultivation dries up earlier than years before.

The scarcity of water during dry season is mainly caused by felling of big trees growing near and surrounding the streams and rivulets. Forest is the abode for many wild big and small animals and when jhumming cultivation takes place many animals are killed and others are driven out from their habitats causing great decrease in their population. It also affects the food chain in nature. This causes some rare species of animals and plants endangered for living.

As an example, Horn bill and Slow loris were once seen abundantly in the reserved forest of Khamlang village but now they vanished and remain only in name for present generations.

Jhum Area in % to the Total District Area (2003) (Source : MARSAC, 2003)

Trends of Jhum Cycle in Manipur

Trends of Forest Cover in Manipur