Tambor Lyngdoh: Conserving forests for today and tomorrow
54 years old
Mawphlang Village, Mawphlang Block, East Khasi Hills District, Meghalaya
Tambor Lyngdoh, a community leader from Meghalaya, has dedicated his life to forest conservation and sustainable development. As a descendant of the Lyngdoh clan, who have traditionally overseen sacred grove rituals, Tambor brings a unique perspective to environmental stewardship.
His work exemplifies a community-based approach to environmental conservation, blending traditional wisdom with contemporary practices. These efforts not only preserve forests but also strengthen local economies and cultural identities, offering a model for sustainable development in indigenous communities.
“For us, the forest is everything,” Tambor says of the forest. “That is why we regard it as a mother. We call it Mother Nature because we get everything from forests.” This deep connection underpins his work in reviving sacred groves and community forests, an initiative he has led for over thirteen years.
Tambor emphasises the cultural and spiritual significance of sacred groves in Khasi society. These areas, he explains, are “demarcated and sanctified for performing rituals and invoking the deities.” They serve as for community gatherings and communication
with the divine, while also preserving biodiversity and water resources.
“I feel that every time I enter inside our forests, there is harmony."
In recent years, Tambor has observed the impacts of climate change on traditional practices. “We have been living in a period where the climate has changed a lot,”
he notes. “The rain is very erratic. We have the same amount of rain but in a very short duration. We also have a lot of cases of forest fires.”
To address such challenges, Tambor’s efforts were instrumental in facilitating a pilot initiative in 2007, under the aegis of Synjuk Federation, which focussed on forest conservation and socio-economic development of local communities. This effort evolved into a larger initiative spanning 86 villages across 10 Hima (traditional Khasi states), adding up to about 12,355 acres of regenerated forest, of which the Mawphlang sacred grove spans an extent of about 190 acres. The initiative now generates income under a climate change mitigation mechanism called REDD+ and employs over 20 staff and 50 community facilitators.
“It is a joint effort, to conserve forests, to raise awareness,” Tambor says of the initiative. It has now expanded to include villages in Manipur and other northeastern states. The initiative promotes sustainable livelihoods alongside forest conservation, providing training on livelihood-based adaptation activities with an emphasis on self-sufficiency, such as food processing, beekeeping, piggeries. Through this, Tambor refutes the inevitability of displacing communities in the name of conservation. “You may ask us, when you are conserving a forest, where do the poor people go? They stay and lead the efforts for forest conservation, while also improving livelihoods.” He also advocates for regulated resource use and provision of household fuel alternatives like LPG connections to reduce forest dependency.
Education is another key component of Tambor’s work. He laments that traditional ecological knowledge “has not been taught in school,” and strives to incorporate these lessons into local curricula. By engaging school-children and youth volunteers, Tambor aims to ensure the long-term sustainability of conservation efforts.
Looking ahead, Tambor plans to expand the scope of these initiatives to further strengthen biodiversity conservation and evolve institutional arrangements to improve ecosystems’ capacity to provide services. He encourages communities to actively participate in forest restoration, stating, “We should not stop. Because everything is possible.”
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