“To explore, discover and document bioresources of the North-Eastern region, assess their economic importance, develop models of sustainable resource use and build capacity and strengthen institutions in Biodiversity Science”

The Himalayan mountain range that covers much of Northeast India is one of the most important—and most threatened—global biodiversity hotspots. The region has been a centre of evolutionary novelty, harboring thousands of species found nowhere else on earth. The Northeast region is also a home to hundreds of indigenous ethnic communities, with their associated languages and cultures. Millions of people here rely on bioresources, including ecosystem services to sustain their livelihoods. Such resources and their enhancement are going to be of vital importance in this era of global climate change.

However, the landscapes of the Northeast region are under extreme pressure from extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including changes in climate, land use and land cover. Biodiversity is threatened by expanding human populations, pressures from industrial and agricultural development and lack of coordination in governance and policy.

“Bioresources and Sustainable Livelihoods in Northeast India” is an initiative towards strengthening both science and sustainable development in the Northeast India. Funded by Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India, New Delhi, this multi-institutional, multi-investigator research program is co-ordinated by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) and Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) in partnership with 12 institutions of the Northeast.