Resource Management in the age of Globalisation with reference to Manipur

Abstract

Manipur, a hotspot of biodiversity, rich flora and fauna and vast natural resources, is lying in the high environmentally sustainable Northeastern region of India. Its fertile soils and a high length of growing period are highly suitable for the growth of various agricultural products almost throughout the year. The state’s valley region which is one-tenth of its land is favourable for rice, horticulture, vegetables, pisiculture, etc. While the hills comprising nine-tenth of land produce rice (both through terrace and jhum or shifting cultivation), bamboos, cane, wild bananas, maize, sesame, potato, ginger, turmeric, vegetable, orange, lemon etc. Medicinal plants also grow widely both in the hills and the valley. Besides these, Manipur is also a powerhouse of human resources, be it in sports and games, performing arts, culture, dance or in medical profession, engineering and hospitality sector etc. Despite all these, the people are not able to exploit their land and its resources fully due to a number of factors. The causes are multidimensional. Low intensity of roads, low availability of energy, low skill formation, low employability, low market interaction, low factor mobility etc, keep Manipur economy, especially the tribal economy in a state of stagnation and crisis. While globalisation has opened the floodgates of free inflow of goods and services, little has it paved the way for the outflow from the region. People have become victims, rather than beneficiaries of globalisation. There is failure on the part of everyone to take advantages of globalisation as number of factors operates retarding proper marketing of indigenous resources. Lack of governance and prevalence of rampant corruption is one such factor. Benefits of Government of India’s Look East Policy and Thailand’s Look West Policy have not trickled down to the common masses, as Manipur is caught in a myriad of problems.In the light of these, this paper proposes to examine some of these issues related to indigenous resources management in the age of globalization.