Institutional pathways of Indigenous agroecologies in Northeast India: A historical-comparative and SDG-aligned study of Apatani and jhum systems

Abstract Indigenous agrarian systems in Northeast India remain marginalized in policy, despite accumulating evidence of their ecological sophistication. This article provides a historical-comparative analysis of two exemplary systems – sedentary Apatani rice-fish cultivation in Arunachal Pradesh and rotational shifting ( jhum ) cultivation across the Eastern Himalayas – to explore how socio-ecological resilience emerges through locally grounded governance and adaptive knowledge. Methodologically, the study employs a historical-comparative qualitative design, systematically evaluating 120–150 secondary records from major databases through the integrated theoretical lenses of traditional ecological knowledge, political ecology, and historical institutionalism. The empirical analysis reveals that the Apatani system maintains highly stable productivity (averaging 1389 kg/ha of rice and 209 kg/ha of fish) while enhancing soil organic carbon as a climate-resilient carbon sink. Conversely, spatial data indicates that jhum cultivation has faced severe decadal contractions declining by up to 97% in specific states between 2000 and 2010, driven primarily by state-led institutional displacement and fallow compression rather than innate ecological failure. The results demonstrate that when customary institutions are accommodated, both systems strongly align with ecosystem-based targets (SDGs 2, 13, and 15) and polycentric governance (SDG 16). However, both face escalating vulnerabilities from climate-induced hydrological shifts and modern demographic pressures. The study concludes that the sustainability of Indigenous agroecologies is fundamentally a function of governance autonomy and institutional continuity, necessitating context-sensitive policy alignment rather than homogenous agricultural modernization.