Idu Mishmi, India
This case study is shared thanks to Flourishing Diversity, and is reproduced here with permission. Learn more at flourishingdiversity.com including a downloadable PDF version.
Cultural practices protect biodiversity including a scientifically-new population of tigers.
Indigenous Peoples and local earth-based communities form 5% of the global population, yet take care of 80% of the planet’s remaining biodiversity. If we are to successfully conserve and restore Earth, we must learn from these ancestral systems, which respect all life; taking only what is needed and ensuring the landscape remains abundant in the long term.
By collating these top-line case studies, we seek to evidence how different cultural practices and traditions protect and enhance the ecosystems they form a part of.
They offer examples of how human behaviour can actively benefit rainforests and weather systems, the health of soil and water, and the flourishing of all other species.
“The supreme creator created the forest, rivers and mountains so that people can take from them, but only as much as they need in order to survive. Since that time, even the clothes we weave to cover our bodies come from the plants of the forest.
We have to love and respect our mountains, rivers and forests. We must never forget that they are not ours to plunder. Only when we give them love and respect, will we get love and respect in return. We must also remember that if we destroy nature, then ‘it’ will not only punish us but also those who we love.
No matter how tall our buildings get and how high in the sky we fly, if we don’t respect nature then it won’t respect us either. It will destroy us. This is the value of forest, the value of nature for us.”
— NABA SIPA MELO
Ancestral Homeland of the Idu Mishmi People and Uniquely Biodiverse Landscape
Located at the juncture of the Indo-Chinese and Malayan biogeographic areas, the Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh in India forms a part of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot and supports an outstandingly rich diversity of flora and fauna. Altitudinal and longitudinal variation create numerous ecological niches which support an extraordinary variety of life forms. Over 550 species of birds have been recorded in Dibang Valley, more than known to be resident in Norway and Sweden combined. Several of these species are not found anywhere else in the world.
Recent research has registered a scientifically-new population of tigers in Dibang Valley that has survived largely due to the protection offered by the cultural practices of the native residents of this region, the Idu Mishmi people. This is no small feat as the global wild tiger population is perilously low at less than 4,000 animals. In a world searching for solutions to mitigate climate change and the extinction crisis, there is much we can learn by listening to a culture that has protected thousands of hectares of dense old-growth forest and the world’s most iconic and threatened predator.
Rich grasslands, home to species such as the leopards, wild elephants, and Indian jackal, carpet the floodplains of the Dibang river. These areas once supported huge herds of wild buffalo, gaur, and elephants.
Grasslands blend into tropical foothills home to several species of tropical mammals, such as the endangered Eastern hoolock gibbon, sambar deer, Indian muntjac, several species of civets and porcupines, spotted linsang and the elusive sun bear.
The sub-tropical forests in mid elevation transition into high mountain forests of cedar, maple, oak, birch, and various conifers. As the mountains rise, these give way to dwarf rhododendrons, sub-alpine scrub and alpine pastures on the ridge tops and higher plateaus. These areas are home to unique species, such as the Himalayan black bear, Himalayan serow, red goral, Mishmi takin, Arunachal macaque, red panda, Himalayan monal, and Gongshan muntjac.
Roaming throughout these myriad habitats are the predators: the tiger, clouded leopard, six colour variations of the Asiatic golden cat, marbled cat, leopard cat, yellow throated marten and Asiatic wild dog. Snowcapped mountain peaks reach above 4,500 meters.
“So many people in the forest are not only finishing off our wild animals, they are driving the predators, like tigers and wild dogs, out of the forests and towards our villages. In the village, these animals kill our cattle and can be a potential threat to our safety. This level of hunting is also impacting the welfare of our people. In Idu culture, if you hunt too much, you have to face negative consequences.”
— NABA EMUKO MIWU
Cultural Ways Support and Enhance Biodiversity
The Idu Mishmi people maintain a deep physical and cosmological relationship with their environment. They understand human-nature relations in sophisticated and interconnected ways.
Traditional animists, they believe that while humans, animals, and spirits may look different, they share a common culture. Animals and spirits live in families and possess the same capacities of conscious and moral decision making as we humans do. Ancestral songs and chants tell tales of Idu creation, a story bound the life and spirit of the tiger. The Idu Mishmi see tigers as their brothers; killing one is an act of homicide and strictly forbidden.
Idu culture has embedded rules known as ‘ena’ that maintain ecosystem balance. For instance, every time a large animal is killed, strict ritual procedures and restrictions are to be observed by the hunter for five days, and for one night by all those the meat is shared with. Ena practices also govern birth, death, marriage, healing, and menstruation. As intermediaries of the physical and non-physical realms, Idu shamans oversee these rules and the ceremonies. They observe the harmony, health, and longevity of the community, which includes both human and non-human.
Recent years have seen escalating threats to Dibang’s biodiversity and cultural traditions (e.g. livelihood transitions, changes in land tenure and land use, weakening of traditional institutions). Starting 2020, some Idu Mishmi people and scientists have come together to protect Dibang’s unique bio-cultural heritage through locally-led initiatives.
“Our schools should teach traditional knowledge, in addition to western education, so that our children learn about our rich and unique natural-cultural heritage.”
— NABA JIBI PULU
Opportunities to Support
1. Support Community-Led Conservation Research
A number of socio-ecological research projects are in need of continued support. They collaborate with local people and combine local knowledge with scientific tools to study wildlife ecology, document and understand traditional ecological knowledge, land management and agro-ecological practices.
2. Support Diversity of Education
Idu Mishmi ancestral stories are oral repositories of rich traditional knowledge, narrating origin of the Idu people and all living beings. The story of the man and the tiger reminds the people that the two are siblings and must not harm one another. Tales detail the moral relations people ought to have with each other and with the natural world, as well as customs and codes of conduct. Sadly, most modern-day schools do not teach the traditional cultural and ecological knowledge that has sustained bio-cultural diversity in Dibang Valley.
This storytelling program takes the rich and fascinating Idu traditional stories to where students spend most of their time –modern schools. Local Idu teams will conduct regular storytelling sessions with different grades in Dibang schools with the help of visual aids, multi-media, and art created by Idu artists. This program kickstarts the process of placing traditional knowledge at par with formalised western education.
To find out more about supporting programs to preserve this bio-culturally diverse landscape, contact info@flourishingdiversity.com
The Dibang Valley of Arunachal Pradesh in India is a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas. Its inhabitants, the Idu Mishmi people, see human nature relations as interconnected and they maintain ecological balance through sophisticated cultural practices. This traditional knowledge offers vital lessons about how to preserve biodiversity
