By HH Mohrmen
There was a hue and cry against the central government proposal – National Mission on Edible oils which identifies the North East region as an area for special focus. It is feared that the plan will have a drastic impact on the culture and the environment of the region. The central government in order to offset the loss of foreign exchange in importing palm oil from abroad, proposes to introduce palm oil tree plantations in the north eastern region of India. The government had even planned to make huge investments to see this project through but the question is what disastrous impact this plan will have on the state. Many have raised their objections against the project but the attempt in this write-up is to examine the impact of the existing monoculture plantation on the state and its people. As a matter of fact even without palm oil tree plantation, the forest and the environment had suffered immensely from various monoculture plantations in the state.
Pinus Kesiya plantation
There are at least three monoculture crops or plants that the farmers in Meghalaya cultivate in the different regions of the state. The monoculture plant that the farmers grow varies according to the climatic conditions of the area. For example the Pine trees or pinus kesiya occurs only in the higher altitudes and it does not grow in the slopes which have sub-tropical climatic conditions with prevalence of sub-tropical forest. The first and obvious impact that the pine tree cultivation has had is on the biodiversity of the area. Pine trees like to grow alone and there is no variety even in the kind of shrubs that grow underneath them. It is monoculture and there is no diversity wherever there is pine tree cultivation. The lack of varieties of plant species growing along with the plant, also affects the water retention of the soil. This was experienced by many farmers who have paddy fields below the hills. They confirmed that when the forest on the hills was replaced by pine trees, it drastically affected the water supply to the rice fields. Pine tree plantations also affect the water quality in the area and a test which was conducted found that water collected from the area is highly acidic.
Pine tree cultivation does not support biodiversity as pine trees do not attract animals or even different kinds of insects. One can hardly see birds using the tree. Only on rare occasions would one see a squirrel climbing up and down any pine tree. This happens despite the fact that pine trees which are also known as Pinus Kesiya are endemic to the state.
Broomstick Cultivation
Broomstick or broom grass is now a very important cash crop of farmers who live in different parts of the state. An interaction this writer had with one farmer will perhaps help readers understand the importance of this plant to them. The farmer does not have his own paddy field so he said that all the money he earned from selling the broomstick that he produces goes towards buying rice that is needed to feed his entire family for the whole year. To fulfil his family’s other daily needs he works as a daily labourer in the village for the remaining part of the year. Broomstick cultivation has become a primary livelihood activity of the farmers in many parts of the state.
Broom-grass is also a monoculture plantation and in the case of broomstick the farmers always ensure that the overgrowth below the plant is cleared. Not only does broom-grass not encourage other plants, but even the weed that grows along with the grass is removed. Broom-grass also consumes a lot of water and the soil where the plant is cultivated is dry and unfertile. In this case the absence of overgrowth also affects the water retention of the land in the area. In some areas because weeding the overgrowth is a tedious process, the farmers uses herbicides to clear weeds. This in turn affects the fertility of the soil which is already affected by the lack of nutrients due the absence of plant biodiversity in the area.
In many cases broom-grass cultivation is started by removing a standing forest and this also affects the forest cover in the state. In many areas where broom-grass cultivation is prevalent it was done so by removing the forest and this in turn destroys the biodiversity in the area.
Betelnut or Areca nut cultivation
Areca nut is another important cash crop in areas which experience subtropical climatic conditions. It is also a monoculture plantation and it is only in certain areas where pan leaf or betel leaves and black pepper are planted alongside the betel-nut trees. The soil in the area where areca nut trees grow is always dry and it does not support plant biodiversity. Similarly in the case of areca nuts too, forests are cleared to make way for plantations.
In the case of areca nut and pine tree plantations, the plantation would be falsely considered as a forest when in fact it is not. Any monoculture plantation is not a forest because it does not support biodiversity and it was planted by removing existing forests in the first place. It is also worth noting that despite the fact that all these plants are endemic to the region yet, since they are monoculture crops which have a drastic impact on the environment. The fact that areca nut is endemic to the state is drawn from the fact that eating the nut with betel leaves is considered a tradition and there are stories that go along with the plants; one of the most popular story is that of betel-nut, betel leaf lime and tobacco (U kwai, u tympew, ka shun bad u duma).
Delhi imposing its policy on the NE states
The plan to introduce palm oil tree plantation in the region is also another classic case of Delhi trying to impose mainland ideas on the tribals in the north east. It is also an attempt to not only introduce new plant species to the region but to also interfere with the culture and traditions of the people. The tribals of the north east live a unique way of life which has a close connection with nature and if palm oil tree plantation is introduced then it will definitely affect this profound relationship that has existed since time immemorial.
The mission is also in contravention of people’s understanding of the land they live in. In the tribal context land is not looked upon as merely a means of production. People have a special relationship with the land where they live. In fact, nature is considered to be divine and their lives revolve around the environment that they live in. It supports their lives by supplying them wild edibles and even tribal medicines that they need to cure their ailments. More importantly they even worship some part of nature.
It is also said that palm oil tree cultivation is introduced to minimise the damage done by jhum cultivation, but jhum is not just a system of cultivation. Jhum cultivation is a tradition which retains biodiversity and in the War Jañtia area there is cultural practice which goes with it. It is called ‘ka Longhai.’ If the government goes ahead with the mission then the same will definitely have a huge impact on nature and the people’s way of life. And since palm oil tree is a foreign species, it could also create imbalances such that insects, birds and animals will not be able to coexist with the new plant.
The state already has existing monoculture crops which in spite of being endemic to the state, have severely affected the environment. One may ask if it is prudent for the government to introduce another monoculture crop which is foreign to the area in the state.
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