Transition from shifting cultivation to rubber cultivation in Tripura: socio-economic and ecological impact.

In the Southeast Asian uplands including Tripura, a North Eastern state of India, agricultural transition is underway from subsistence production of shifting cultivation to commercial plantation of rubber (Hevea brasiliensis). Though there are reports of positive impacts of this transition both on the socio-economic conditions of the concerned people and on the ecology of the concerned area, still it is questionable as there are certain adverse reports and assumption. In the light of studies in different Southeast Asian Countries including Tripura of India, the prospects and concerns of its impact have been reviewed in this paper in Tripura perspective.