Traditional Agroforestry Practices in the Indian Eastern Himalayas: Case Studies and Lessons

This chapter examines the functioning of the various agroforestry systems, including silvopasture, agrisilviculture and agrisilviculture. Traditional agroforestry systems are considered as the classic example of sustainability due to their important role in conserving biodiversity, advancing food security and maintaining environmental health. In this chapter, these systems have been studied for their ability to sequester carbon and their contribution to food production and security. With Alder-based agroforestry in Nagaland, Alnus cardamom agroforestry in Sikkim, Piper-based agroforestry in Southern Assam, the Indian Eastern Himalayas is a region to diverse agroforestry paradigm. Globally, more than 1.2 billion people practice agroforestry on approximately 1 billion hectares of land, while in India, agroforestry is practiced on about 25.32 million hectares. Agroforestry systems offer significant environmental advantages and ecosystem functions above and beyond the farm level. These systems increase soil biodiversity and fertility, conserve water, and minimize pollution. In addition to these, the main regulatory role of agroforestry systems is to help slow down global warming. With immense potential, traditional systems can help achieve many of the sustainable development goals (SDG: 1, 2, 3, 12, 13, 15) and also help in the restoration of degraded lands.