Transformation of cluster of villages into eco-villages – a case of Manipur

Abstract

“Eco villages are established village communities that are shaped through conscious interaction of all their community members to develop selfidentified/sustainable communities committed to living in an ecologically,economically, culturally and spiritually sustainable way”. (Source GEN- Global Eco-Village Network) Goals of a Sustainable village • To promote economic growth • To protect the environment • To foster a strong community • To improve the quality of life. The concept of eco-villages, does have the potential to serve as a part of alternative urban model as it is an efficient way of dealing with urban sustainability issues. Though eco-villages have relatively small experimental communities, they are in the position to explore and apply novel solutions, the necessity of which is evident in the global concern for sustainability. Model eco village is to develop a village at community level with the combination of traditional and modern climate change adaptation practices to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience for traditional livelihood so that the same practices may be replicated in other such villages. Forest is an important resource in the state of Manipur and agriculture is the mainstay of the economy of the people. The study are consists of three villages namely, Phayeng, Sanjembam and Tairenpokpi. In Phayeng, the forest cover has been reduced from 683.3 Ha to 96.98 Ha during the last 41 years (1974-2015). The main reason was due to the traditional slash and burn method of agriculture being practiced in the upper slopes of the village. This method of farming has led to reduction of soil fertility, forest degradation, depletion of ground water level, reduction of base flow and reduction of stream flow. And also the mono cropping practice in valley have reduce the soil quality. The government of the Manipur had taken up a pilot project “Model carbon positive eco village at Phayeng, Manipur.” The objective of the project was to develop model eco-village in the Himalaya Ecosystem, blending traditional and modern adaptive practices to reduce vulnerability to climate change and enhance resilience for traditional livelihood.The trend of rainfall over six decades have been analysed. But, it is difficult to conclude anything regarding relationship between rainfall and climate change from time series data of annual average rainfall values. The temperature data over last 60 years on the other hand give a clear indication of a trend, which is, the maximum temperature had been on a consistent rise post 2014 and the minimum temperature has shown a gradual reduction. The other analyses done were related to the socio-economic details of the population of the study area, regional connectivity, physical and social infrastructure availability, existing farming practices adopted and willingness of the agriculturists to adopt innovative farming techniques and water conservation strategies. Proposals have been made considering following important point’s viz. (1) to achieve environmental protection (2) to encourage community participation (3) to enhance the local economy and the quality of life