For generations, the forests of Nagaland have been protected through community institutions and traditional knowledge systems. Among the state’s tribal communities, forests remain intrinsically linked with livelihood, culture, and daily existence. This relationship formed the foundation of the Mokokchung Model of Community Conservation, pioneered by Dr Sentitula, IFS, a 2011-batch Nagaland cadre officer, during her tenure as Divisional Forest Officer and Head of the Divisional Management Unit, Mokokchung Forest Division.
Currently posted as Director (Tourism & Industries) at the North Eastern Council Secretariat, Shillong, Dr Sentitula’s work in Mokokchung offers a significant example of how forest restoration can operate alongside traditional agricultural practices rather than seeking to replace them.
The model was developed under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s Nagar Van Yojana and the NFMP-JICA programme, adopting an approach that positioned village institutions and local communities at the centre of conservation planning.
Conceptual Framework: Community-Centric Conservation
For Dr Sentitula, the fundamental premise was conservation in a tribal landscape cannot be dissociated from the communities that have been traditionally managing these resources.
“In a tribal area, the forest and the community cannot be separated. Over 80% of our forests are community-owned. And the knowledge of conservation is always inherent in the community,” she observed.
Nagaland’s distinctive land ownership pattern with over 80% of forests under community ownership and management through traditional village councils necessitated that any restoration effort must engage communities from the outset. Rather than imposing conservation as a set of external regulations, the Mokokchung approach sought to work within existing village governance systems. Community members participated in mapping, documentation, plantation, and forest management activities, while traditional knowledge was integrated with modern scientific tools and methodologies.
Reconciling Forest Restoration with Jhum Cultivation
A primary challenge was balancing forest restoration with jhum cultivation, the traditional shifting cultivation system that remains a critical livelihood source in Nagaland. According to Dr Sentitula, jhum is practised by approximately 60% of the population, covers nearly half of the state’s land area, and contributes roughly two-thirds of the food produced for local sustenance. Needless to mention jhum practice has its benefits for enriching the soil under seasonal practices.
Rather than advocating for the abandonment of this practice, the Mokokchung model focused on its improvement and sustainable adaptation.
“The community should integrate the benefits of jhum with systematic scientific procedures to improve overall soil health and surroundings,” Dr Sentitula stated.
Traditional jhum systems involve cultivating land for a limited period followed by a fallow phase to allow soil and vegetation recovery. Depending on land availability, fallow periods typically range from seven years to over a decade. The model worked with these fallow landscapes and explored mechanisms to transform them into community-managed green spaces while permitting ecological regeneration to continue.
The Five Restoration Models
The restoration approaches, adapted to the specific conditions of individual villages:
- Jhum Agroforestry (JAF) – Integrating tree cultivation with agricultural crops in active jhum areas
- Jhum Fallow Forestry (JFF) – Utilising fallow landscapes for forestry interventions
- Jhum Conversion to Forestry (JCF) – Converting fallow jhum areas to permanent forest cover
- Jhum Conversion to Community Conservation Area (JCC) – Establishing community-managed conservation zones
- Protection and Expansion of Community Conservation Areas (PEC) – Strengthening and extending existing community conservation initiatives
This flexibility was essential, as each village presented different land-use patterns. Where active jhum was being practised, agroforestry could be introduced. Where existing community conservation areas were available, interventions concentrated on regeneration and improved management.
Technology and Traditional Knowledge Integration
Technology formed a significant component of the restoration programme. Communities were introduced to GPS mapping and drone-based documentation, enabling them to participate actively in documenting and monitoring their own landscapes. Simultaneously, traditional practices such as stone-wall conservation were incorporated into restoration and agricultural planning.
The objective was not to replace indigenous knowledge with technology but to enable both systems to complement each other, creating a synthesis that respected local wisdom while leveraging modern tools for enhanced outcomes.
Building Community Ownership and Trust
The success of any community conservation programme depends substantially on trust. For Dr Sentitula, that trust cannot be established through directives alone.
“It is they who conserve. We just help them, assist them, and consult them. In this way the communities steered forest protection,” she explained.
This participatory approach ensured that conservation was presented not merely as a government programme but as an initiative communities could claim ownership of. Village institutions were integrated into the process, with discussions around forests, land use, and restoration proceeding alongside local knowledge and existing practices and modern scientific interventions. The approach also drew upon the traditional relationship between communities and forests, including the protection of sacred groves that have survived across generations without formal enforcement mechanisms.
Outcomes and Impact
The village-specific approach enabled the Forest Department to adapt interventions according to local requirements. Across 14 villages, approximately 4,968 hectares were restored between 2020 and 2024, during which nearly 10 lakh saplings were planted. Forest cover in the area increased by 14.88 square kilometres, while 42 self-help groups were established to support livelihood opportunities linked to the broader programme.
The restoration effort thus extended beyond plantation activities. Communities will not participate without returns. So we attempted to connect ecological recovery with livelihood generation through community participation, creating a holistic framework for sustainable development.
The Living Laboratory Concept
The Mokokchung initiative also developed infrastructure aimed at making conservation more accessible and educational. Approximately 50 hectares of degraded jhum fallow land were transformed into a community-managed Nagar Van. The site incorporates a living lab, designed as an open learning space where visitors, students, researchers, and communities can observe and understand forest restoration processes firsthand.
The Nagar Van features QR-coded tree interpretation, a Forest Resource Centre with quizzes, pamphlets and virtual forest experiences, and an Eco-Trail designed around hiking, biodiversity learning, and forest-based experiences such as Shinrin-yoku (forest bathing). A Bio-Amphitheatre provides additional space for oral traditions from village folk and environmental education, while a Coffee Table Chronicle documents the development and journey of the project.
The Living Lab concept is particularly significant because Dr Sentitula views the Mokokchung experifolk andence not as a template to be replicated uniformly but as a field-based space where conservation practices can be observed, studied, and continuously improved.
Implications for Conservation Policy
For Dr Sentitula, perhaps the most significant value of the Mokokchung Model lies in the questions of the curious younger generation who deserve to know their space and surroundings, their flora and fauna.
“If the children are strangers to their surroundings, there will be no sense of belongingness or a sense to preserve the forests. The living lab is an answer to the curious young minds, the caretakers of the future. Additionally, researchers and academicians have a lab where the science learns from the tradition.”
The model could provide a field setting for future research on carbon sequestration, soil revival, biodiversity recovery, and ecological restoration. Its broader lesson is not that one conservation model can be transplanted unchanged across India. Instead, it demonstrates the value of understanding local institutions, land-use systems, and traditional ecological knowledge before designing restoration strategies.
The Mokokchung experience demonstrates that forest restoration and traditional livelihoods do not necessarily exist in conflict. With appropriate planning, technology integration, community participation, and scientific support, they can operate in synergy. As Dr Sentitula observed, “The jhum cultivation and forest conservation go hand in hand, mutually supporting each other.”
The Mokokchung Model thus offers a field-tested approach to community conservation where traditional knowledge is not treated as an artifact of the past but as a vital resource that can inform modern ecological restoration. It exemplifies how conservation efforts that empower communities to lead can achieve outcomes that are both ecologically sustainable and socially equitable.
