North East india

The Northeastern Region of India, comprising the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura, can be physiographically
divided into the eastern Himalaya, the northeastern hills (Patkai-Naga Hills and Lushai Hills),and the Brahmaputra and Barak valley plains.

Due to the immense biodiversity that it supports the region has been identified as prioirty area by many leading international and national conservation organizations. The region is abode of god due to its cultural and biological diversity. The region is one of the ethnic lands in India due to large numbers of ethnic/traditional groups that it supports. The region is home to one of the oldest human civilizations of the country. The assam plains and eatern himalayas are identified as endemic bird areas by Royal Society for Bird preservation. The Important Bird Area (IBA) program of birdlife international has notified 59 areas as IBA with purpose of protecting the fragile habitats of birds.

WWF has identiifed following as priority ecoregions in North east India

• Brahmaputra valley semi evergreen forests
• Eastern himalaya broad leaved forests
• Eastern himalaya subalpine coniferous forests
• India- myanmar pine forests

Threats to biodiversity of north east are as following:

1. deforestation and degradation forest cover
2. Jhum cultivation, agriculture
3. human encroachment into protected areas
4. uncontrolled grazing
5. forest fires
6. human- wildlife conflict
7. invasive species and replacement of indigenous varieties by exotic ones
8. commercial plantations
9. siltation of wetlands
10. illegal wildlife trafficking

The above facts call for the immediate action to be taken to conserve this fragile and bioidversity significant region of India. The efforts of many conservation organization is worth appreciation and this write up acknowledges the work of nature lovers & insititutes who have gathered the facts about this area and brought it to the notification of Government.

Climate Change

Copy write:Image By Nasa.

A workshop of 36 leading climate scientists in Oct., 2005 at British Embassy, Berlin , Germany compiled a shortlist of 9 potential "Tipping Elements" . These points are ranked as most policy- relevant . These are:

VERY SENSITIVE:

1.) Greenland Ice Sheets: Warmer temperatures will melt the ice, causing disappearace of ice sheets in next 300 years. The sea level will increase by 20 feet.

2.) Arctic Sea Ice: As sea ice melts , the dark ocean will be exposed and accelerating the melting.

SOMEWHAT SENSITIVE

3.) West Antarctica Ice Sheets: If global temperatures rise, the ice sheets will melt and raising sea levels by 15 feet in next 300 years .

4.)Boreal Forests: If northern forests can't handle the heat, they'll die, causing loss of earth's primary carbon sinks.

5.)Amazon Rainforests: Defforestation and climate change will probably reduce rainforests and causing loss of carbon sinks.

6.)El Nino/ Southern oscillations (ENSO): Different temperatures in different pacific water layers interact with varying equatorial temperatures to produce global weathern patterns called ElNino and LaNina. If ENSO is disrupted then ElNino will become more pronounced with severe droughts in some places and floods in other.

7.) Sahara/ Sahel West AfricanMonsoons: A warming Atlantic can make monsoons dry up or become more severe.

8.) Indian Summer Monsoons: Warmer air carries more water making the monsoons severe.

NOT SO SENSITIVE

9.) Atlantic Thermocline Circulation: Atlantic ocean circulation is driven by seawater cooling and sinking in north atlantic . If fresh water is added from warming of glaciers, or sea water warms, then the cooling- sinking cycle could stop, causing North Atlantic sea levels to rise and shift in tropical rainfall.

The Origin Of Human Races In India

The species known as Ramapithecus was found in the Siwalik foothills of northwestern himalayas.This species believed to be the first in the line of hominids lived some 14 million years ago.According to Dr. B.S.Guha, the population of india is derived from 6 main ethnic groups.

1.) Negritos: they are brachycephalics(broad headed) from Africa, were the earliest people to inhabit India. They are surviving in Andaman and Nicobar islands. They include Jarewas, Onges, Sentelenese, and Great Andamanis.

2.) Pro-Australoids: This group was next to come to India. They represent people with wavy hairs plentifully distributed over their brown body., long heads with low foreheads and prominent eye,ridges, noses, thick jaws,large palates and teeth and small chins.Austric tribes are present in Myanmar, south east asia, are said to "form bedrock of the people".They were the main builders of the Indus Valley Civilisation.

3.) Mongloids: These people have features common to people of Mongolia, China ,Tibet. They are found in northeastern part of India in states like Assam, Nagaland, Meghalya and also in Ladhak and sikkim. They people of yellow complexion, oblique eyes, high cheeckbones, sparse hairs, medium heights.

4.) Dravidian/ Mediterranean: This group came to India from south west asis and appear to be same to people of Asia minor and Crete and pre-Hellenic Aegeans of Greece. They have built up the city civilisation of indus valley, whose remains have been found in Mohenjodaro and Harappa. They comprise all three sub- types , Paleo-Mediterranean, and Oriental mediterranean.

5.) Western Brachycephals: These include the Alpinoids, Dinaries, Armenois. The Coorgis and Parsis fall INto this category.

6.) Nordics: Nordics or Indo-Aryans are the last immigrants. Nordic Aryans were a branch of Indo- Iranians, who had originally left their homes in Central Asia , some 5000 years ago, had settled in Mesopotamia. The Aryans must have come to India in 2000 and 1500 B.C. Their first home in India was PunjabFrom there spread to valley of ganga and beyond.

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