India - Development and Growth in Northeast India : The Natural Resources, Water, and Environment Nexus

India's Northeastern Region
consists of eight states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam,
Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura
-- occupying 262,179 square kilometers and with a population
of 39 million (2001 census). This report has come about at
the request of the Indian Government for the World Bank to
focus more of its attention on the Northeastern Region in
order to support poverty reduction and development in the
region. Accordingly, the Ministry of Development of North
Eastern Region (MoDONER) and the Bank devised a study that
would provide a broad, regionwide view. This report
synthesizes the study, which focuses on water and forests,
two key interconnected resources of the region, and the
institutional framework that deals with their management.
This paper includes the following headings: introduction;
objective, process, audience, and scope of this study; the
Northeast Region -- water and forest resources;
institutional environment; key findings of the study;
challenges for the Northeast Region; recommendations for
priority activities, and conclusions.