Paper short abstract:

The paper explores a policy framework that builds a synergy between traditional management of communities' resources and upcoming challenges due to short sighted development and ecomonic ventures with reference to water conservation in India's North Eastern States.

Paper long abstract:

The North east region in India comprises one of the most culturally and genetically diverse population in the country divided in 8 states. The region is defined by its community based institutions that command, control and define its resource ownership and use. The region is endowed with plentiful water resources (among others) and has recently been embroiled in a lot of environmental conflicts and controversies. The construction of dams for power generation, the division of states and division within states of water resources as well as the legal and constitutional structures imposed upon the use of water in the region come in direct conflict with the traditional institutions and traditional knowledge that has governed water over centuaries. Coupled with this, cultural and village tourism necessitated the building of modern infrastructure that led to diverson of the traditional water resources creating tension between different stakeholders. The Lepcha protest in Skkim aganinst the dam on the Teesta river, the Subansiri protests in Assam and the rising problem of water stress in areas that have traditionally been amoung the wettest in the world, are just the tips of the iceberg that is waiting to be explored. The environmental characterstics of the region are captured well in its socio-cultural complexity and any plan to use the region's resources needs to be considerate of these.