Special Centre for the Study of North East India

Special Centre for the Study of North East India (SCSNEI)
Jawaharlal Nehru University

Is organizing a National Seminar on

“Ecology, Sustainability and Community Practices in North East India”

27-28 November, 2025
at Jawaharlal Nehru University

Call for Abstracts

As part of the Eastern Himalayan and Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspots, North East India hosts approximately 8,000 species of flowering plants, 800 bird species, and numerous endemic mammals. The region supports diverse ecosystems, ranging from the subtropical rainforests of Manipur to the alpine meadows of Sikkim and the vast Brahmaputra floodplains of Assam. These ecosystems provide critical services, such as carbon sequestration, water regulation, and livelihoods for millions.

However, North East India faces significantly critical environmental challenges in recent times. Deforestation, infrastructure development, and illegal logging, has led to habitat fragmentation and biodiversity loss. Climate change compounds these issues, with rising temperatures, erratic monsoons, and frequent extreme weather events, such as floods in Assam, landslides in Arunachal Pradesh and GLOF in Sikkim.

Community practices in North East India are rooted in traditional ecological knowledge and therefore foster sustainable resource management. In spite of their resilience, however, the community practices in the region face threats from infrastructural projects, land privatization, technological intervention and policy gaps. While community-led conservation has drawn inspiration from broader environmental movements, the region’s unique socio-ecological context requires smart and well thought-out solutions that integrate traditional knowledge with modern sustainability frameworks.

The seminar aims to facilitate dialogue among our young scholars on issues around ecology, sustainability, and community practices in North East India, contributing to the Viksit Bharat vision. It will also highlight successful models, such as Sikkim’s organic farming and Assam’s community-based flood adaptation strategies, while addressing challenges like climate vulnerabilities and policy implementation. The conference seeks to co-create strategies for ecological resilience, sustainable development, and community empowerment in the region and its surrounding milieu.

We invite abstracts from the young scholars in Social Sciences, North East Studies, Himalayan Studies, Border Studies, and related fields. Submissions should be 250-300 words, clearly outlining the research focus, methodology, and relevance to the conference sub themes, accompanied by 4-6 keywords.

Eligibility:
•    PhD scholars
•    Young faculty at colleges, universities, or research institutes
•    Emerging researchers affiliated with recognized research organizations and policy institutes

Submission Guidelines:
Abstracts should engage with any of the sub-themes of the conference: Cultural Narratives of Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change and Community Resilience, Sustainable Livelihoods through Agro-biodiversity and Eco-tourism, Social Dimensions of Green Economies, Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Heritage, Gender and Youth in Sustainability, Community-Based Governance, and Policy & Social Justice. Submit abstracts as a Word document to scsneijnuseminars@gmail.com with the subject line “Abstract Submission: Seminar 2025.” Include a brief bio note (50 to 100 words) detailing institutional affiliation and contact information.

Key Dates:
Abstract Submission Deadline: 15 July 2025
Notification of Acceptance/Rejection: 7 August 2025
Full Paper Submission Deadline: 15 October 2025

Conference Mode: Hybrid (in-person at JNU and virtual, subject to funding)

Selected papers may be published in a peer-reviewed edited volume or a reputed journal of a special issue. The conference provides a platform for shaping policy-relevant discussions on sustainable development in North East India.

For any further inquiry, contact Vimal Khawas/G Amarjit Sharma in the given email address.

Concept Note

Research Cluster of SCSNEI

Special Centre for the Study of North East India (SCSNEI) was established in the year 2018. Earlier it was a University-level Programme under the name, North East India Studies Programme, established in 2006. The Centre aims at a holistic understanding of the region by bringing together different epistemic perspectives with a strong commitment to an inter-disciplinary research. The focus of the Centre covers humanities, social and environmental sciences, and other allied disciplines, that are linked to studies on North East India and its neighbouring areas.

The main thrust of the Center is to undertake critical research on the diverse and complex issues of the region and build up a body of scholarly works on the region including its wider historical and contemporary global contexts and connections. At present, SCSNEI focuses on areas of study, such as social change, religion and statecraft, economic development and livelihood practices, conflict, peace and human security studies, frontier and borderland studies, history of infrastructure, visual history, history of goods and circulation, cultural studies, literature, cultural history, resistance studies, traditional knowledge system, political ecology and environmental studies, transnational and migration studies, borderland and regional economy, print culture, ancient Indian culture and archaeology, aesthetics and performance studies, biodiversity, traditional medicinal practices, performing arts and folklores, and oral traditions.

SCSNEI promotes active interaction between JNU and various Universities and institutions at the regional, national and global levels. This is being done through the exchange of scholars, workshops, seminars, symposia, research, etc., on themes pertinent to the region. SCSNEI also engages in comparative research which covers themes connecting local and global issues and their wider implications. It aims to develop into a Centre of Excellence which would serve as a resource hub for scholars from diverse parts of the country and abroad and be a platform that brings academics, administrators, policy makers, civil society actors and activists interested in the region and its neighbouring areas to dialogue on its various challenges and prospects, develop new methods and approaches for holistic growth and development of the region, and locate the region in national discourse and policy intervention.