From the editor’s desk-September,2020

‘The seed” completed its first month. Graced by several insightful articles, this has been a very enriching beginning for our blog. I extend my gratitude to all writers for your valuable articles and at the same time I send my love to all who read our articles, thank you for being our source of support, thank you for being part of our journey. ‘The Seed’ is a new journey to explore, expand and empower the consciousness of Nature Conservation amongst us all, we all are here to grow along as we progress in this journey. Nestled amidst lofty mountains and breathtaking wilderness, the Northeastern states of India provide us all with endless possibilities to find inspiration from Nature and also to find inspiration for the sake of Nature. The Northeastern states of India, well known for their unique cultural heritage are considered the world over as remote exotic destinations. The Northeastern states of India have maintained their remoteness because of several factors, one of them is the lack of literature and reliable narratives. Assam and other Northeastern states are very poorly represented even today to the outside world; there exists huge gap of published materials. Nurtured in the cradle of Eastern Himalayas, a global biodiversity hotspot, the Northeastern states of India is a treasure trove of nature. The colorful cultural diversity of Northeast is solely dependent upon this rich biodiversity of the region. Mother Nature has been exceptionally generous with us; we are replete with the most beautiful forests, fertile valleys and cleanest rivers in the world, blessings in true sense. Throng amidst an amazing biogeography, which along with other physical characteristics constituted the ideal conditions for the occurrence of our rich repository of biodiversity which is globally significant. The well-being of our forests, our rivers, our mountains decides the ecological future of our planet. This natural bounty is the real strength of Northeastern India, we need to understand its importance, and we ought to raise our consciousness to protect our natural resources, wildlife and forests from the clutches of greed and exploitation. One very important work which needs to gain momentum is documentation and making published literature available to the masses to empower them with greater awareness about the contemporary situations. We must start to write about our eco-friendly traditional practices which are imbedded in almost every community of this region, we must make the world aware about our rich heritage. At the same time, we must document the existing forests, checklist the biodiversity of our wild spaces and make this information available to a larger group. While I am writing this column sitting in the comfort of my home, forests in one such remote corner of our world must be getting leveled to ground. This is the reality, we are losing forests in an unprecedented pace, and there is a pressing need to counter it with equally prompt and effective conservation measures. Our forests are precious; our world is losing its soul in parts with the death of each forest space. We must act, but first educate yourself, empower yourself and get started with the pure motivation of Nature conservation. Let the Northeastern states of India be an example for the entire world. We love our forests, with the correct motivation and wisdom we can very well carve a niche for ourselves, let the world know us not only for our rich biodiversity but also for our unique diversified ways of caring for our forests. Let India’s green frontiers bring a new hope to the trouble torn human world. I urge everyone to embark on this journey, try to feel nature, rekindle your bonds with nature, let this connection grow, let us help this consciousness flourish through our writings, through our work.