Customary fires and conservation conflicts in the Dibang Valley, Arunachal Pradesh

An ageing farmer in the village of Anguli in Arunachal Pradesh’s Dibang Valley was following his traditional agricultural rhythm of slash-and-burn agriculture, clearing his agricultural land to sow crops until he was stopped by the Circle Officer. This led to an argument over what is permissible and what is not. The farmer alleged that subsequently, he was physically assaulted by the police. This incident generated widespread concern across the valley, as the inhabitants viewed it as direct physical interference in their Indigenous everyday life. While public attention has focused on the alleged police brutality, it also underscores deep fissures between conservation governance and the customary land use practices that have long shaped the socio-ecological landscape of the Dibang.

Mr. Jamo Mihu, the aforementioned farmer, has his land administratively located within the Anini panchayat block close to the district headquarters. Jhum cultivation is a customary practice among the Idu-Mishmi where the vegetation is seasonally burned to prepare the land for agriculture. As narrated by the farmer and his family, the Circle Officer ordered him to stop the burning. The farmer reminded the officer that the land being burned was his own field in preparation for agriculture and requested that the officer not intervene. The Circle Officer took offence and lodged a verbal complaint with the police. According to the farmer and his family, the police officer brought the farmer to the station where he was physically assaulted. The incident was given space and forwarded by various media platforms, including social media and led to a peaceful protest in front of the office of the District Collector.

Idu-Mishmi community members and many scholars argue that customary practices have historically contributed to maintaining ecological balance in the region. Social institutions and practices of the community are normally aligned with the prevailing environmental conditions. Taking a more nuanced note of this will only help the government agencies and communities develop greater clarity regarding rights and responsibilities, and to draw an appropriate socio-cultural boundary.

Source: Mohan Sharma, January 2023

The following areas require a more nuanced gaze to avoid reoccurrences of similar incidents:

1. Clarity regarding everyday life and customary practices: Around 8,000 Idu-Mishmi people are scattered over 9,129 km² of the Dibang Valley district. The food basket of the community is largely supplemented by forest products. Traditionally, Idu-Mishmi cosmology and their livelihoods have been closely intertwined with the surrounding ecologies which is reflected in their socio-economic and spiritual practices where the violators of rituals and taboos have to face severe consequences. Taboos related to food consumption are more extensive for women than men which makes them greatly dependent upon forest resources. Traditionally, women are mainly engaged in agricultural practices where they clear the field, construct a fire line and practice a controlled burning without harming the forest. They produce food for themselves. These activities are primarily oriented towards household subsistence and their food sovereignty rather than commercial production. Satellite imagery (Figure 2) showcases a motley landscape containing cultivated farms, regenerating fallows, forests and grazing land, proving that the area cannot be understood solely through the lens of either side in the debate on shifting cultivation.

Source: Google Earth Imagery, 10 March 2026

2. Sha-aheiko and its socio-cultural significance: The Dibang Valley is also a key habitat of semi-domesticated mithun or sha. The non-agricultural tracts are spaces for the sha and these spaces are locally known as sha-aheiko. The sha is culturally the most significant non-human for the Idu-Mishmi and is required in all ceremonies and rituals like marriages, funerals and the Reh festival. As a community member, Mr. Tocha Mipi narrates, “I have raised my children and supported their education by selling sha.” Therefore, the researcher and policymakers should view this area not only from the perspective of conservation. Rather, they should also learn about traditional human-nature interactions and develop strategies for ‘participatory governance’ where socio-culturally significant species can thrive sustainably.

Photo: Mohan Sharma, December 2016

3. Bring clarity to the landscape envisioned for tourism: The Dibang Valley has emerged as a significant tourist destination over the last decade. Idu-Mishmi community members have been building the trails and base camps largely on their own and training the local youth in hospitality services. Therefore, tourism has emerged as a key source of employment for the youth. While on the one hand, tourism is being promoted, there are, on the other hand, forest-based rights and community conservation areas, and the two do not often go hand in hand. Tourism often has an impact on account of over-usage of natural resources but the ecological tipping point often goes unnoticed as those who work in the area like government officials and tourist services are not dependent on the ecosystem services directly even if they claim to be interested in conservation. This probably explains the attitude of government officials towards traditional jhum

Local communities are, however, part of the natural supply chain of the Dibang Valley ecosystem. The governance mechanism where conservation is touted as a prominent objective, however, often interferes with the ecological flow and traditional checks and balances operating in the local ecological setup. Long-term interference in local food production systems, which includes foraging and community-controlled hunting, can force them to procure foodstuffs from the market. However, traditionally, the Valley has not had much experience of the monetised economy, except for the places around the administrative centre. The need to make money to buy food might turn community-controlled hunting to market-influenced hunting leading to some degree of trading in foraged flora and hunted faunal items creating a problem for genuine conservation efforts.    

It is, therefore, necessary to bring clarity to tourism sites so that sustainable participatory tourism and co-governance frameworks can be designed as a part of landscape management ensuring equitable participation and addressing the risks of local elitism, including bureaucratic overreach. The incident with the aged farmer should remind us that it is vital for ex situ policies, conservation workers and government officials, etc. to understand the fabric of the local socio-cultural landscape to avoid such incidents. Moving slowly on this account will only further erode the confidence of local communities in government policies. 

 

---

About the Authors: Mohan Sharma is a PhD Scholar in the Department of Geography at Sikkim University. Dr Uttam Lal is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at Sikkim University. They can be reached at [email protected] and [email protected], respectively.