Threats

Threats to biological diversity of the North Eastern region have been compiled from various literature. The broad categories of threats are as follows:

• Deforestation and Degradation- 
  The primary vegetation in extensive areas of the Northeast India has been disturbed and modified
  and in some places destroyed by seismic activities, frequent landslides and resultant soil erosion.
  While these natural causes have contributed only marginally to the change in vegetation type,
  human induced activities have led to irreversible transformation in the landscapes and resulted in
  colossal loss of biodiversity in the entire region. (Ramakanta V, A.K. Gupta and Ajith Kumar
  unpubl). The region has witnessed excessive logging since the colonial days for revenue generation
  (Handique 2004). The practice continued until the Supreme Court ban on logging in 1995, however
  clandestinely it is done in some areas in the reserve forests (Tripura SBSAP). The logging and
  extractions have also damaged some of the forest patches like the Borduaria preservation plot of
  Hollong, Mekai.

• Agriculture-
  
  Along with
  jhum cultivation, there are also other practices like ‘bun’ cultivation (for growing potato), particularly followed in the hill slopes of Meghalaya, which have the potential to cause both soil and water erosion. Similar instances can be found with settled agriculture that is responsible for causing loss of biodiversity. Large forest patches in the plains, particularly in the tropical wet evergreen forests in Arunachal Pradesh (as seen in Diyum, Chowkham, Miao) have been cleared and converted to agriculture fields. Some of the less arid lands are converted to mustard cultivation. This practice is more prevalent as people from higher reaches have come down to foothills areas to settle new villages.
• Encroachment-
  Encroachment of forestland is a serious threat to forests and its conservation. The situation isalarming in some states and needs strong political will to address the problem. This has not only caused loss of forest area but has also created a tool for perpetual degradation of forest resources.Frontline in 2002 reported the unsuccessful efforts of eviction of encroachers from a reseve forest near Guwahati subsequent to Supreme Court order in January 1998. The issue is politically sensitive and seldom discussed in a transparent manner (Kumar, 2002).
• Grazing-
  It is estimated that 60% of the domestic herbivore population graze in the forest. The grazing causes soil compaction and heavy damage to the forest plantations and natural regeneration. This far exceeds the carrying capacity of the forests and is one of the major factors for degradation offorests especially near habitations.