Rapid expansion of rubber plantation in various parts of the country, particularly Northeastern States, does not augur well for biodiversity conservation and health of water and soil, as is being already witnessed in many Southeast Asian countries.
In an article, published in the latest journal of the Current Science, researchers said rubber plantation increased from 4.47 sq. km in 1997 to 28.42 sq km in 2013 in various parts of the study area in India. In Southeast Asia too, they noted, the monoculture rubber plantations are expanding, across southwest China, laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, northeast Thailand and northwest Vietnam, leading to a large decrease in the regions’ forest cover. Researchers, Kasturi Chakraborty, S Sudhakar, KK Sarma, and PlN Raju from North Eastern Space Applications Centre(NESAC) of the Department of Space and Ashesh Kr Das from Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Assam University, Silchar, have called for regulation of the rubber plantation to avoid conversion of dense and reserved forest areas. In this regard, they suggested mixed cropping methods instead of rubber monocultures, and by adopting more sustainable land use and management practices.
With the current trend of land use/land cover (lUlC) change taking place globally, several parts of northeast India are also showing signs of change leading to forest loss, said the researchers. They had used remote sensing and GIS technique to study expansion of monoculture rubber plantation in selected sub-watersheds in northeast India, and distributed in parts of north Tripura, Mizoram and a major portion in the Assam’s Karimganj district.
The study holds important given that globally, India ranks second in the land area under plantation and the Government has been doling out various incentives to promote its plantation as it helps gainful self-employment and sustainable livelihood opportunities generating direct employment.
However, the researchers cautioned, there is risk of unsustainability in marginal environments where rubber is being planted. Currently, the seven northeast states together make up the second largest area of rubber planted in the country, says the report “Recognizing the rapid expansion of rubber plantation - a threat to native forest in parts of northeast India” .
“A management system between economic return and environmental sustainability is required for improving long-term scenario in the region . Strategy may be developed for mixed plantation, i.e. rubber mixed with other trees rather than monoculture plantation,” they said.
Diversity of crops including spices, plantation crops, medicinal plants and vegetables combined with rubber help in sustained soil fertility, they suggested.