In the far north of the Ukhrul district, along the Indo-Myanmar border, lies a village once renowned for its rich biodiversity. Tusom Village is divided into three sections: Tusom Khullen, Tusom CV, and New Tusom. It is said that Tusom Khullen is the ancestral home from which the other two sections and several neighboring villages originated.
Tusom Khullen is located approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) from Ukhrul headquarter and about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Indo-Myanmar border. The village once possessed the most abundant and enormous trees in the region and was known for its thriving wildlife. However, in recent years, the community has begun to witness the devastating effects of environmental degradation.
Memories of a Greener Past
“In the olden days, there was no plastic. We used covers made of palm leaves called Nampho when the rains came. We carried our own firewood. The woods were cut by hand using axes because there were no chainsaws,” reminisced Ningon Vashum, a 63-year-old local. “In those days, the youth would work in the paddy fields alternately, a practice known as Yarkathui in Tangkhul, and we would stay up all night without sleeping.”
Lamenting the modern excess of logging, he narrated: “Our ancestors would cut down trees with axes and craft planks from them. Although they could only get two planks from a single tree, they cut only what was necessary for their livelihood.”
“It is much hotter nowadays,” Vashum noted, recalling that houses were made primarily of hay when he was growing up. “There were no chainsaws then. We harvested trees by hand only for building houses or for firewood, not for business. Thirty or forty KB of wood was enough to build a home.”
However, a specific commercial venture took a heavy toll on the local pine population. “In those days, there was no ‘piece’ or ‘sleeper’ business (pine wood exported for railway tracks). We could cut the trees we needed; there was no private ownership. Now, due to the rise of the sleeper business, the pine trees are gone.”
The “Sleeper” Boom
Vashum estimates that the commercial timber business began around 1978–79. Having married in 1985, he once took part in the trade for sustenance. In 1988, his group was permitted to harvest one load of pine. “When we went to harvest our share, we saw that most of the trees had already been cut down. That is why I estimate the business began in the late seventies.”
The scale of the extraction was massive. “We would get 41,000 to 42,000 rupees per Tata truckload. Each truck carried 110 ‘sleepers.’ It took two Shaktiman trucks (a legendary military heavy-duty vehicle) to fill one Tata truck,” he explained.
Vanishing Waters and Rising Temperatures
The commercialization of timber has led to severe environmental degradation and localized climate change. Locals now face water scarcity and soaring temperatures.
According to residents, the deep forests are blessed with massive trees like the Uningthou (Mafa thing in the local dialect) and Oak trees (Shirimtheirung), which are essential for retaining water in their roots. Due to the lack of reforestation, these natural reservoirs are disappearing.
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“In the past, we had plenty of water. There was no scarcity,” said VS Ningthar who is in hie late 50s. “Even now, the scarcity isn’t constant – it happens every two or three years. However, the extreme rise in temperature has been most noticeable in the last 10 years. When sawmills and chainsaws were introduced, trees were cut in excess. That is when the water started drying up at the roots.”
Recalling the density of the old forest, Ningthar added with sadness, “The forest used to be so thick and dark that it was freezing; we could hardly cross it. Now, we remove our shirts and it is still too hot to walk.”
The Science of the Lived Experience
What the elders describe is not just environmental degradation, but a lived experience of climate change. Scientists identify deforestation as a primary driver of local temperature rises, erratic water availability, and biodiversity loss in mountain ecosystems. In Tusom Khullen, climate change is not measured in data charts, but in disappearing springs and forests that no longer cool the land.
Research published by Climate Impact Partners (November 2024) confirms that clearing forests increases atmospheric carbon, contributing to global warming. It disrupts water cycles and harms communities that rely on forests for food and clean water.
Trees act as “carbon sinks,” absorbing more carbon than they release. When they are cleared, that stored carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Furthermore, deforestation disrupts transpiration, the process by which trees release water vapor to form clouds and rain. Without trees, rainfall decreases, leading to droughts and the drying up of local rivers and streams. Without roots to hold the soil in place, the land becomes vulnerable.
This article was written in collaboration with the Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Manipur, and the Ukhrul District Working Journalist Association (UDWJA).