- Summary
- Objectives
- Status
- Project Publications
Historically, the Tuivang River in Manipur and its catchment has been actively managed and used by local communities, with shifting cultivation and selective logging being common practices. Recent years has seen a drastic reduction in both these practices, and an increase in mechanized clear-felling of large tracts of forests. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this clear-felling on steep slopes has resulted in increased soil erosion and sediment loads in rivers. The local people also reported increased flood events along the Tuivang River in recent years, which could be related to logging as degraded forests reduce rainwater infiltration and increases runoff. To address these issues, this project aims to involve the local community in improving and restoring these remnant forests along the Tuivang River.
1. Increase awareness among local communities on the importance of forests in retaining rainfall and reducing landslides and flood risks in the area.
2. Identify potential sites for restoration.
3. Documenting floral species richness and diversity in the area.
4. Establishing village nurseries to aid restoration efforts.
5. Grow Rare, Endangered and Threatened (RET) plant species in nurseries at the participating villages, which could be later planted in the restoration sites.
6. Restoration of denuded sites that will help in rejuvenating streams and the river and thus will benefit conservation and sustainable use of water resources in the long run.
- Using Landsat and Sentinel 2 time-series images, different stages of vegetation degradation in the catchment of the Tuivang River were identified and the distribution of forest fragments were mapped. Using these, sites for restoration and conservation were identified.
- Field surveys to determine the florisitc diversity in the forest fragments were undertaken through sampling 35 plots. Additional information was collected by interviewing locals. Of the 63 tree species documented, two were bamboo and one cane. While the status of most of the species documented has not as yet been evaluated, two species–Dipterocarpus turbinatus (VU) and Tectona grandis (EN)–are threatened.
- To increase awareness among local communities on the importance of forests, we conducted a total of six awareness and education programs covering six villages. Of the 78 participants, 45% were students and 36% were women.
- Nurseries have been established. ~2000 seedlings of nine plant species were raised. The seedling survival rate was found to be nearly 80%.
- A site of size 0.3 Ha has been identified near L. Bongjoi village for restoration which has been planted with 600 saplings of the nine species.
- To share our work and experience in establishing a nursery for species in this remote region, a protocol document on preparing nursery beds, seed treatments and raising local plant species in the nurseries has been put together.