Nagaland  is  one  of  the  eight  states  in  the  North  Eastern  Region (NER) of India, a  biodiversity  hotspot  where climate  change adaptation  is of critical  importance for the largely rural population. With a hilly terrain, low population density, shallow soils and high rainfall, farmers have adopted a shifting cultivation system known  as  jhum.  This  largely  self-sufficient  system  has adequately  met  the  various  needs  of  rural  communities,  including  food,  fiber  and  energy,  but  is  now  getting disrupted due to shortening  jhum  cycles  as a result of increasing population, focus on high value crops  for  cash  income,  soil  fertility  degradation  and  top  soil  erosion  on  account  of  decreased  fallow cycles. Changing climate patterns is further exacerbating these disruptive trends.

In Nagaland the jhum  system covers 60 percent of the area under food grain cultivation, and about half of rural households are engaged in jhum cultivation, with about 100,000 ha of forest being cleared for  cultivation each year. Rice is the staple food, and upland paddy is the main jhum crop, grown mixed with other crops. Jhum land and forest-fallows also meet most community firewood and timber needs, and are also sources of wild foods and medicinal plants, as well as catchment areas of local streams…