ABSTRACT
Biodiversity is the most vital natural resource contributing towards the sustenance of life and livelihood of the people across the globe. Northeast India is exceptionally rich in biodiversity and harbours thousands of rare, endangered, and threatened plant and animal species. Several traditional biodiversity conservation practices such as the maintenance of sacred groves, community forests, village forest reserves, Anchal Forest Reserves and Apna Van are in vogue among the tribal people of the region. People of the region immensely depend on biodiversity for food, fuel wood, fodder, construction materials, and medicine. They derive their water from the biodiversity-rich forested watersheds. Illegal and unsustainable extraction of bioresources from forests and natural waters, forest fire, excessive grazing, encroachment and pollution of wetlands, unscientific mining of minerals, raising of monoculture plantations, short cycle of shifting cultivation, and introduction of alien and exotic species are the major threats to the biodiversity of the region. The governments of the region have taken several initiatives for the conservation of biodiversity among which the implementation of the Biodiversity Act 2002 is the most significant and likely to produce positive results.
