As the paradox of extraordinary natural
resources and yet an under-developed Northeast and Eastern Himalayan region
continues to remain unresolved, irreversible damage to the fragile ecology
looms large due to unparalleled infrastructure initiatives. Current growth and
developmental path appears unsustainable, as irreparable habitat loss is taking
place in a manner that has threatened habitat-based, culturally diverse
indigenous livelihoods. While natural resources alone, in the absence of
blending of traditional knowledge, rather wisdom, with appropriate low impact
technology supported by required institutional mechanism and a holistic vision,
is unlikely to nurture a productive economy, unplanned infrastructure may be
last nail in the coffin. In the backdrop of average per capita income lower in
Northeast India by one third than the country average, all sectors reflect: (a)
federal government rather than regional interest in decision-making; (b) weak,
complex and inadequate institutional arrangements for profitable and
ecologically pragmatic local enterprises; (c) fragmented, insulated and largely
un-documented, and hence incomplete and partly inaccessible indigenous knowledge
base; and (d) growing disillusionment by local communities with current economic
initiatives due to adequacy-deficit and credibility-deficit of past initiatives
to deliver. This can possibly be changed with a targeted thrust on ecologically
sensitive local governments, communities and indigenous grass root
stakeholders. Key among the much overdue changes are (a) collective cooperation
in ecosystem based livelihood security; (b) increased conservation
responsibility by the different responsible groups, agencies, individuals; and
(c) decentralization of decision making to adequately accommodate habitat based
livelihoods. This last pristine frontier of the planet must seek livelihood
options that are in sync with sustainable regenerative cycles of its habitats
and disown other options. This process must include mechanisms for equitably
sharing the benefits and focus more upon locally profitable ecosystem centric livelihood
activities that can have immediate
sustainable impact on food-water-energy security
at the community level. Institutions must be able to create and manage an environment of incentives and disincentives that encourage initiatives
consistent with sound habitat protection objectives, and discourage initiatives
that direct benefits to exclusive small groups while inflicting social and environmental
damage and consequent resource insecurity to the community at large.

Editorial note prepared by:
Dr Chandan Mahanta
Head, Dept of Civil Engineering, IIT,
Guwahati
DIMORIANREVIEW, VOL-6, ISSUE-3, MAY-JUNE 2019 RELEASED
Thanks again to all contributors! They are the most valuable
resource persons with unconditional support and cooperation in making our effort
successful every time.
Our earnest
gratitude to all the honorary board members for their association in the
journey of the e-journal.
We sincerely acknowledge with deep sense of respect to Dr Chandan
Mahanta for leading us from the Editors’ Desk with his insightful ideas
that can be instrumental towards the socio-economic developing process in the
Northeastern part of India.
Dr
Chandan Mahanta is currently a Professor & Head in the Department of Civil Engineering and a Professor & former Head of the Centre for the Environment
at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati.
He is member of Board of Governors of NIT Sikkim, NIT Nagaland and
Khelhoshe Polytechnic, Nagaland. He was an ASCE-EWRI visiting fellow at the Utah
Water Research Laboratory of the Utah State University, USA and was EurIndia
visiting fellow to the University of Applied Sciences, Karlsruhe, Germany. He
was in the Monash Sustainability Institute of Monash University under the
Australian Leadership Award Fellowship Programme and was part of the Hydro
Diplomacy training program jointly conducted by MIT, Harvard University and
Tufts University. Prof Mahanta has
served for various national and international committees including in working
groups in the Planning Commission of India. Prof Mahanta has carried out
projects focusing upon Natural Resource Management and particularly
environmental management funded by national and international agencies
including MHRD, MoUD, MoEF, DST, SIDA, EURINDIA, UNICEF, WWF and IUCN. Prof
Mahanta has authored more than seventy technical publications in peer reviewed
journals, proceedings and books. He has organised trainings, workshops,
conferences and has lectured to a cross section of professionals in USA,
Australia, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, China, Taiwan
and Southeast Asian countries including Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and has
collaborations with several US and European universities. He has been advisor
to about twenty five PhD and more than fifty Masters Students. Prof Mahanta is
particularly passionate about steering the society towards an environmentally
secure future through a sustainable pathway.
We
are deficient of saying more words, but once again we must say “Thank You” to
Dr Chandan Mahanta for sparing his invaluable time for us and for enlightening
the society with his brightest ideas in the field of higher education. We wish
him a very happy life.
Hope readers will love reading this
issue!
Editorial Team
DIMORIANREVIEW
Vol-6, Issue-3; May-June 2019
Vol-6, Issue-3; May-June 2019
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