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This study explores the significance of Plant Based Traditional Ecological Knowledge (PBTEK) among the Nyishi tribal community of Papumpare district, Arunachal Pradesh, India, with particular attention to its role in sustaining livelihoods, preserving cultural identity, and conserving biodiversity in the face of modernization and socio-economic transformations. The research highlights how PBTEK—rooted in the Nyishi’s intimate relationship with forests and natural resources—provides a foundation for subsistence, health care, environmental stewardship, and community resilience. However, this orally transmitted knowledge system, primarily passed down through elders, women, and ritual practices, faces increasing erosion due to urban migration, lifestyle changes, and shifting economic dynamics, underscoring the urgency of its documentation and integration into formal conservation and development frameworks. It describes how this knowledge, embedded in daily practices such as traditional plant gathering, healing, and ritual ceremonies, remains largely undocumented, making it vulnerable to loss. The study further illustrates how age and gender influence knowledge transmission, with older individuals and women serving as key knowledge holders, while younger generations increasingly rely on digital and informal means of knowledge exchange, creating gaps in traditional pathways of transmission.The findings advocate for integrating PBTEK into resource management and policy frameworks to enhance community resilience, promote sustainable development, and conserve the rich cultural heritage and ecological knowledge of the Nyishi people. The study examines plant-based traditional ecological knowledge (PBTEK) among the Nyishi community, emphasizing ethnobotanical practices, cultural significance, and the transmission of local plant use. A total of 263 plant species were documented, with detailed analysis highlighting their roles in medicine (193 species) and food (144 species). The Use Value (UV) and Cultural Significance Index (CSI) were applied to assess species importance, focusing exclusively on plants rather than broader ecological elements. While primarily centered on ethnobotany, the study briefly considers aspects of environmental adaptation and sustainable resource use, particularly in relation to shifting cultivation and cultural practices such as the NyokumYullo festival.
PBTEK in the Nyishi community, preserved through oral transmission, is crucial for biodiversity and sustainable resource management. However, modernization and socio-economic changes threaten its continuity. By reviewing the community's extensive plant-based knowledge, the study underscores the need for policy measures to protect and integrate PBTEK into modern conservation and development strategies, thereby supporting both cultural heritage and ecological resilience.
This study investigates the socio-cultural life and PBTEK of the Nyishi community in Papumpare district, Arunachal Pradesh. It documents 263 plant species across 93 families, with significant roles in medicine (193 species) and food (144 species), assessed through indices such as Use Value (UV), Cultural Significance Index (CSI), Knowledge Richness Index (KRI), and Knowledge Sharing Index (KSI). Findings reveal strong age- and gender-based variations in knowledge transmission, with elders and women serving as primary custodians. The mixed-methods approach, combining interviews, participant observation, ethnobotanical surveys, and quantitative analysis, highlights the interconnection of socio-cultural life—shifting cultivation, rituals like Nyokum Yullo, and governance systems—with ecological knowledge. The results underscore PBTEK’s substantial role in sustaining livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and cultural resilience, advocating its integration into resource management and policy frameworks.
The study documents 263 plant species across 93 families, demonstrating their multifunctional roles in food security, ethnomedicine, socio-cultural life, and ritual practices. Of these, 193 species are utilized in traditional healing systems to address 63 categories of health conditions, while 144 species serve as food resources. Musa sapientum (banana) emerged as a culturally and economically significant species, exhibiting the highest Use Value (1.67) and a citation frequency of 0.63. The research employed ethnobotanical indices—Use Value (UV), Cultural Significance Index (CSI), Knowledge Richness Index (KRI), and Knowledge Sharing Index (KSI)—to quantify the importance of specific plant species and to evaluate the depth and distribution of knowledge across the community. These indices revealed critical variations in knowledge based on age, gender, and social role, highlighting the uneven transmission and potential vulnerability of PBTEK under changing socio-cultural contexts.
Findings show that women and elders are the primary custodians of PBTEK. Women demonstrated higher scores in Knowledge Richness and Sharing Indices, reflecting their central role in plant gathering, food preparation, caregiving, and social networking. Elders remain vital reservoirs of knowledge, drawing from lived experience and ritual authority, while younger generations—though more adept at digital communication and informal knowledge exchange—demonstrate declining reliance on traditional practices. This generational gap, combined with migration and the allure of wage-based economies, contributes to the weakening of traditional knowledge pathways, exposing PBTEK to risks of dilution and eventual loss.
The research also situates PBTEK within the broader socio-cultural and governance systems of the Nyishi community. Shifting cultivation, clan-based land tenure systems, and rituals such as the NyokumYullo festival illustrate the integration of ecological knowledge with cultural identity and social cohesion. The Nyishi’s customary governance system, embodied in the village council known as Nyele, operates through consensus and customary laws, reinforcing kinship-based decision-making, ecological stewardship, and conflict resolution. These institutions collectively exemplify a model of sustainable community governance rooted in ecological reciprocity and cultural continuity.
Beyond subsistence and ritual use, PBTEK underpins practices of wildlife conservation, agricultural adaptation, and ecosystem management. Through their knowledge of plant diversity and ecological processes, the Nyishi have developed adaptive strategies for food production, health care, and environmental sustainability in a fragile mountain ecosystem. Practices such as controlled resource extraction, ritual restrictions on plant harvesting, and clan-based land management highlight their indigenous principles of conservation, which remain critical for biodiversity protection in Arunachal Pradesh. However, modernization, infrastructural expansion, and exposure to external markets increasingly challenge these traditional systems, raising concerns about the erosion of community resilience and ecological stewardship.
The study advocates for the integration of PBTEK into formal policy frameworks, resource management strategies, and sustainable development initiatives. Documentation of Nyishi ethnobotanical knowledge not only preserves cultural heritage but also contributes to biodiversity conservation, healthcare innovation, and climate adaptation strategies. Policymakers, researchers, and development practitioners are urged to recognize PBTEK as a living knowledge system rather than a static relic, ensuring that it is revitalized, safeguarded, and incorporated into contemporary governance and conservation models.
In conclusion, the research underscores PBTEK as a multidimensional knowledge system at the intersection of ecology, culture, and governance. It is both a repository of adaptive strategies and a reflection of the Nyishi’s enduring relationship with their environment. While modernization threatens its continuity, PBTEK remains indispensable for community well-being, cultural resilience, and ecological sustainability. The findings highlight the urgent need for participatory documentation, intergenerational transmission, and institutional support to safeguard this heritage for future generations. In doing so, PBTEK can serve not only as a cultural legacy of the Nyishi people but also as a vital contribution to global discourses on indigenous knowledge, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development.
