Long before climate conferences and carbon credits and biodiversity targets entered the global vocabulary, communities in the hills of Meghalaya were already protecting forests with something much older – customs, beliefs and collective responsibility.
A new study published in the journal Environmental Studies and Sciences finds that centuries-old Khasi community institutions still play a crucial role in conserving forests, water sources and biodiversity across Meghalaya, even as mining, quarrying and commercial agriculture put increasing pressure on fragile ecosystems.
The study, conducted by Bhojturam Mauroh of the North East Ecological Farming Support Society (NESFAS), provides a detailed look at how traditional Khasi governance systems continue to regulate the use of forests, rivers and farmland in parts of the East Khasi hills.
The research paints a multi-layered picture at a time when environmental degradation is dominating conversations across the Northeast — where indigenous knowledge systems are not relics of the past, but active conservation tools that still shape everyday life.
The study focused on five villages – Ladmawphlang, Nungwa, Amsuar, Nungtru, and Doleh – to document how local institutions continue to enforce rules governing logging, fishing, hunting, and water use.
Among the most important practices highlighted are “adong law,” or restricted forests, which are community protected areas where the extraction of forest products is either tightly controlled or banned altogether. These forests are often preserved to protect springs, streams and biodiversity-rich habitats.
Other forest areas are designated for limited community use, allowing for regulated timber extraction and collection of non-timber forest products.
Strict rules are still in place in many villages against indiscriminate logging and destructive hunting methods. Washing vehicles near water sources is prohibited in certain areas. The use of chemicals for fishing is prohibited. Some villages have even established community fish reserves to allow aquatic life to replenish naturally.
“These systems are not informal or random arrangements,” the study notes. “They are an integral part of Khasi governance structures and cultural practices that have evolved over centuries.”
Human contact
For the Khasi community – an indigenous community of Austro-Asian descent believed to have inhabited the region approximately 4,000 to 5,000 years ago – forests are not just seen as economic assets – they are closely linked to spirituality, identity and social order.
Traditional institutions such as the Shenung Durbar and Hema continue to play central roles in enforcing community standards and resolving natural resource disputes.
The research finds that these customary systems have helped Meghalaya retain more than 70 per cent of its forest cover despite increasing environmental and development pressures.
This figure stands out sharply in a region where rapid changes in land use are becoming increasingly evident. The hills that were once covered with dense forests now bear scars from stone quarrying and mining. Rivers that used to flow throughout the year dry up during the winter; Commercial broomgrass cultivation continues to expand across the slopes.
Grim warnings
The study warns of increasing environmental pressures in several parts of Meghalaya.
Traditional jhum cropping cycles, which historically allowed land to be replenished over periods of more than 20 years, have reportedly been reduced to nearly a decade in some villages due to increasing population pressure and shrinking land availability.
This shortening cycle reduces soil recovery time and puts additional stress on forest ecosystems, researchers say.
Severe water scarcity during the dry season has also become a concern in parts of the East Khasi Hills, where some villages are already experiencing recurring shortages.
The study identifies broom cultivation, mining and quarrying as some of the most significant emerging threats to traditional landscape management systems.
Forest degradation is nothing new
However, one of the most surprising observations of this study is that environmental change in Meghalaya is not a purely recent phenomenon.
According to research, forest degradation in parts of the region dates back nearly 2,000 years, and is partly linked to ancient iron smelting activities and the transport of megaliths – massive stone structures that still define the Khasi cultural landscape today.
In other words, human influence on the environment of Meghalaya has always been present. The study suggests that what allowed ecosystems to survive was the simultaneous presence of strong societal rules governing how resources were used.
But this balance appears increasingly fragile.
Throughout Meghalaya, tensions between state-led conservation efforts and customary land ownership have repeatedly emerged over the years. Much of the state’s land remains under community or clan ownership, making it difficult to implement traditional top-down conservation models.
The study indicates that policies designed without acknowledgment of indigenous governance systems often fail to gain acceptance at the grassroots level.
The report points to conservation initiatives and forest regulations that ignored Khasi customary rights and traditional ecological knowledge, creating friction rather than cooperation.
This paper arrives at a time when climate-related programs, such as ecosystem restoration projects and carbon credit schemes, are beginning to gain traction across the Northeast.
But researchers warn that such initiatives may face difficulties unless they work alongside local government systems rather than bypassing them.
The way forward
“The future of conservation in Meghalaya depends not only on scientific intervention but also on recognition of the legitimacy of indigenous environmental management,” the study notes.
This message resonates strongly in villages where environmental conservation is framed not through the language of global climate policy but through inherited commitments.
In places like the sacred groves of Mawphlang – among the best-known examples of community-protected forests in the Khasi Hills – people still speak of forests with respect rather than possessiveness. For generations, customary rules have persisted not because they were imposed by distant authorities, but because communities themselves believed forests were worth protecting.
Today, modern pressures are testing those systems in unprecedented ways. Young people are migrating. Land values rise. Commercial extraction provides quick income. Climate variability changes rainfall patterns. Traditional institutions themselves face questions about how they can adapt to a rapidly changing economy.
However, despite all this, the study indicates that the foundations of Khasi environmental governance remain remarkably resilient.
Perhaps this resilience lies in a worldview older than modern conservation itself – one that sees forests not as commodities to be maximized, but as living spaces that support nature and community.
For Meghalaya, where debates over development and environment often collide head-on, the findings offer a reminder that some of the most effective conservation practices may not need to be reinvented. They may already exist, quietly preserved in village councils, sacred groves and unwritten community rules passed down through generations.
