Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge Vol. 10 (1), January 2011, pp. 39-56 Biocultural diversity, climate change and livelihood security of the Adi community: Grassroots conservators of eastern Himalaya Arunachal Pradesh Ranjay K Singh* 1 , SN Bhowmik & CB Pandey 1 *College of Horticulture & Forestry, Central Agricultural University, Pasighat 791 102, Arunachal Pradesh; 1 Central Soil Salinity Research Institute, Karnal 132001, Haryana E-mail : ranjaysinh_jbp@rediffmail.com Received 23.12.2010; revised 20.1.2011 The role of Indigenous and tribal peoples and their traditional environmental knowledge (TEK) is now greatly appreciated and recognized in developing location specific strategies and mitigation plans for coping with climate change. The goal of this research, based on six years of collaborative work with Adi tribal peoples from 14 villages of East and Upper Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, was to record Adi knowledge and experiences relating to biocultural resources and their interactions with climate change and livelihood sustainability. Data were collected using conventional interviews and village workshops. A total of 700 Adi people participated in these workshops, while two elderly Adi women were observed and interviewed over the course of 7 days, to document their deep knowledge on the subject. Results indicated that Adi people are rich in knowledge relating to biocultural resources that play a pivotal role in coping with weather anomalies and any abrupt climatic changes in order to sustain their livelihoods. People are aware about climate change and its potential to threaten heir biocultural resources and livelihoods. To combat future climate change and ensure sustainable lifeways, they are interested in establishing ‘community reserve forests’ (CRF) within undisturbed community forest landscapes. These could be either at an individual or community level or even at both levels, provided that environmental agencies are able to link these ‘CRFs’ with REDD programs and that rewards and incentives are given to Adi tribe. The future of the Adi tribe’s biocultural resources and livelihood sustainability depends very much on their TEK and their active role in research, planning and policy implementation for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Keywords: Adi tribe, Traditional environmental knowledge, Climate change, Biocultural resources, Livelihood sustainability, Arunachal Pradesh IPC Int. Cl. 8 : A01C5/00, E04H, G01W The State of Arunachal Pradesh is considered as one of the megabiodiversity centres as well as a major abode of cultural diversity 1,2 . The people of Arunachal Pradesh, represented by 26 major tribes and 110 ethnic groups, have developed unique bonds with nature – expressed through ‘biocultural diversity’. They depend largely on its forests and diverse ecosystems for their subsistence economy. ‘Biocultural diversity’ is reflected in the interactions of local culture and languages of a particular community with communities of floral and faunal species, through biological, cultural, social and natural processes enacted over time 3 . Biocultural processes and dynamics with one ecosystem vary from those of another according to the scale and space of the culture, and overall species diversity 2,3 . The biocultural diversity of Arunachal Pradesh is mediated through five distinct climatic types (alpine, temperate, sub-temperate, tropical and subtropical), interwoven with traditional knowledge systems (TKS) and strategies that provide continuity and opportunities for subsistence survival of local communities within these diverse zones 4,5 . Worldwide, concerns have been expressed that measurable changes in global climate, including extreme weather events such as floods, elevated temperatures, major storms and droughts, have threatened the sustainability of ecosystems, cultures and livelihoods 6-8, . This is not just an issue for a particular cultural group, state, region or country, but a concern for all human societies, specially peoples, including indigenous communities, who rely directly on their local environments for sustenance 7,9 . Arunachal Pradesh exemplifies this concern. Studies show that climate change can affect plant biodiversity 5,8,9 and even microbial biodiversity of certain food resources of traditional communities in Arunachal Pradesh 10 , thus leading to erosion of the state’s biocultural diversity, and thereby of the ______________ *Corresponding author