Photo taken by the author during a meeting with members of the Garo community as part of a social and resource mapping exercise. USed with permission.
In February 2025, Odisha-based Indian non-profit Landstack – Center for Land, in collaboration with the Gujarat-based Foundation for Ecological Security (FES), hosted the Garo Stewardship Toolkit Orientation Workshop in the municipality of Tura, located in the West Garo Hills district of the northeastern Indian state of Meghalaya. The initiative enabled the creation of a collaborative learning space by bringing together participants from a number of non-governmental organizations across India and Nepal who work closely with Indigenous communities.
The goal of the workshop was to equip participants with skills to generate evidence on how communities act as stewards of their natural resources, guided by ethics of care, traditional ecological knowledge, and local agency. This stewardship not only contributes to community well-being but also ensures the continued provision of vital ecosystem services.
This article explores how the Garos, an Indigenous tribe in Meghalaya, play a vital role in managing and conserving their mosaic landscapes. As part of the training, a stewardship assessment toolkit was deployed in a village, incorporating Participatory Rural Appraisal methods for forest communities, such as resource, care, and knowledge mapping, focus group discussions, and biodiversity and biomass surveys.
The Garo people
The Garo people, who refer to themselves as Achik Mande or “hill people,” understand the significance of soil and moisture conservation. Drawing from their traditional knowledge, they actively plant Bolchim (Duabanga grandiflora) and Achri (Bischofia javanica) trees on the riverside between May and July. The deep-rooted systems of these species help retain water and regulate the moisture of their land.
For sustenance, the community harvests a variety of forest products, including timber for house construction and Non-timber Forest products (NTFPs) such as yams, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, viagra palm shoots, green leafy vegetables, and medicinal plants used to treat various ailments. Resource collection, however, is carefully managed, with harvesting limited to the traditional boundaries of designated patches within the larger community forest area.
The Garo tribe has traditionally practiced farming based on Indigenous knowledge systems, applying them across plain lands, homestead gardens, Jhum (shifting cultivation) fields, and social forestry areas. They mainly adopted agroforestry farming techniques for their livelihoods. The Garo people make up about one-third of Meghalaya’s total population. In the Garo Hills region, only 7 to 8 percent of the forested land is managed by the Meghalaya Forest Department. The remaining area is owned and governed by local communities, with oversight from the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC).
Ethics of care
The community's sense of care for their forests was evident in their sustainable harvesting practices and cultural traditions, such as the the Megong Festival, which celebrates the annual blooming of the Megong tree (Bauhinia sp) in the months of October and November.
The villagers integrate traditional ecological knowledge with community-based conservation efforts to steward their landscapes effectively. Their three-tiered management system includes upland community conservation areas, where strict protection ensures forest regeneration and water conservation; midland zones, where abandoned Jhum fallows are transformed into plantations for economic benefit; and lowland areas, where limited Jhum cultivation and vegetable farming sustain livelihoods while maintaining ecological integrity.
Their approach to watershed conservation is evident in the protection of upland forests, which are essential for stream replenishment, soil erosion prevention, and regulation of water flow. Equally noteworthy is their dedication to biodiversity conservation, exemplified by the establishment of the Bandari Fish Sanctuary — a protected area that supports a thriving population of electric fish.
This structured landscape management demonstrates deep ecological knowledge, balancing conservation goals with local livelihoods and aligning with Indigenous adaptive management practices for long-term sustainability.
Photo taken by the author during a forest health assessment in Meghalaya. Used with permission.
Traditional governance system in managing resources
Like other Garo villages, Dura Dobagre follows a traditional governance structure led by the Nokma, the head of the Garo clan, and the Dorbar, the village council. The Nokma is responsible for land management and community leadership, while the Dorbar serves as the primary decision-making body.
The villagers of Dura Dobagre have implemented a set of regulations to safeguard their forests and biodiversity. These include permitting seasonal grazing only from December to April, while cattle must be kept at home and fed during the rest of the year. The community also conducts annual patrols to monitor forest boundary encroachment, with participation being mandatory. At least one member from each household in every hamlet must join, and non-compliance results in a fine of INR 500 (USD 5.82). All records and updates are documented in an annual report and reviewed during village meetings.
A community participant shared:
Wildlife hunting is strictly prohibited, and outsiders are not allowed to collect broom-grass from the village forest. Fishing is banned in the Chingal and Imbisi streams, with violators facing a fine of INR 20,000 (USD 233). To incentivize enforcement, witnesses receive half of the fine amount as a reward, with fines collected during the annual general meeting. Additionally, stringent fire prevention measures are in place — intentional forest fires result in a fine of INR 5,000 (USD 58), and restrictions on burning firecrackers in the forest during the festive season have been enforced in the past.
In the event of an accidental forest fire, the entire community mobilizes to extinguish the flames using banana leaves.
Results of local stewardship
The tribal communities engage with their resources in ways that turn their lands into multifunctional cultural landscapes, where biodiversity is nurtured and maintained without depending on formal protected areas like parks or sanctuaries. During the field visit, it was clear that these landscapes, managed through various access and governance systems, are supported by a wide range of resource management practices that prioritize sustainability and environmental care.
A walk through the village forest revealed evidence of community-driven, soft-touch forestry practices, such as tending and low-impact harvesting methods, like hand-cutting, coppicing for fuelwood, and climber cutting. The forest also displayed a clear age gradation of trees, with lichens, lianas, fallen deadwood, and natural decomposition processes resulting in a 1–2 inch layer of humus. In a 30 by 30 meter quadrat field exercise, 40 tree species were recorded, with 77 percent of the trees being coppice shoots with diameters less than 10 cm. This traditional coppicing practice plays a vital role in forest regeneration, promoting multi-aged stands with rapid growth and resilience. This approach facilitates quick recovery, thereby enhancing biodiversity.
Photograph by the author: Dr. Pentie Thong from Landstack conducting a forest health assessment. Used with permission.
Indigenous Peoples and Tribal Groups make significant contributions to biodiversity conservation and hold valuable knowledge about biodiversity. Biodiversity is not just an environmental issue but is intricately connected to the social, economic, cultural, and spiritual fabric of communities. Meeting the ambitious goals and targets of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework will be unattainable without the lands and territories that Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) have recognized, sustained, protected, and restored.
Further initiatives are required to expand community-conserved areas, encourage ecological agricultural practices, diversify livelihoods, restore degraded grasslands, regenerate water bodies, and more in order to ensure a healthy, resilient, and sustainable future.
