Bio-resources and Sustainable Livelihood in North East India. Funded by Department of Biotechnology (DBT) New Delhi. 3 Years, 2018-2021

Northeast India is extraordinarily rich in biodiversity that remains unexplored. The bioresources of the northeast have a huge economic value, but the resources are threatened by a number of factors associated with the growth of populations, development of infrastructure, and ineffective policies and poor governance. Human resources and institutions necessary to generate knowledge about bioresources (biodiversity) or to deal with challenges of new concepts such as bioeconomy are inadequate in India as a whole, but more so in the Northeast. Furthermore, biodiversity science itself is a rapidly changing field, with new concepts and tools emerging every day. Thus, there is a need to strengthen human capacity to address modern challenges of biodiversity and sustainability science.

The project aims to build capacity of the research groups engaged in the project on exploration and use of bioresources in the northeast. Other staff in Northeast academic institutions engaged in biodiversity science (quantitative ecology, integrated taxonomy, conservation biology and green economy) will also be targeted. Capacity will be built through a series of courses and workshops that will involve national and international experts. A comprehensive, multi-level communication strategy will be built to convey the ecological and economic significance of bioresources and their key role in meeting India’s commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement INDCs, and other policy frameworks to students, practitioners, policy makers and the general public.