Lived multifunctionality: Indigenous perceptions of shifting cultivation landscapes in the Naga Hills of Myanmar

Shifting cultivation is frequently misrepresented in policy and environmental discourse as ecologically destructive and economically inefficient. This study examines the lived multifunctionality of shifting cultivation (jhum) landscapes in the Naga Self-Administered Zone of Myanmar, where Indigenous Naga communities depend on diverse land-use mosaics for livelihoods, cultural reproduction, and ecological resilience. Drawing on fieldwork in 42 villages across Layshi Township, we combined participatory mapping, livelihood product inventories, and community-based scoring to analyse how different land-use types, including jhum fields, forests, gardens, and paddy terraces, are perceived and valued by local communities. The results show that jhum systems, commonly categorised by the state as “vacant” or “degraded” land, are locally regarded as the most multifunctional land-use type, providing the widest range of livelihood products and contributing consistently to food security, medicines, construction materials, and cultural practices. Forests and home gardens complement jhum fields by supporting dietary diversity and income, together forming an interdependent landscape mosaic. These findings highlight a disconnect between technocratic land-governance frameworks and Indigenous understandings of sustainability, and demonstrate how the misrecognition of multifunctional upland systems can undermine pathways toward more inclusive sustainability transformations. Recognising customary land-use systems such as jhum is therefore critical not only for ecological sustainability, but also for epistemic justice and more equitable development policy.