10 November 2025; 13:00-14:00 GMT
Presenter: Dr Chubbamenla Jamir
Biography
Independent consultant in Agriculture and food systems; Co-lead for the Mountain Agriculture Thematic Working Group, Himalayan Universities Consortium; Project Director (Pro Bono), Climate Studies and Knowledge Solutions Centre, Nagaland (India). Chubbamenla is a Botanist by disciplinary training with an MPhil in Environmental Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University (India) and a Doctoral degree from the University of York (United Kingdom). Her research expertise lies in climate change adaptation, agriculture, and food security, with a focus on the hill and mountainous regions within and outside India. She has taught Post-Graduates, conducted multiple funded research projects as Principal Investigator (PI) and published multiple research articles, reports and policy briefs on the aforementioned subjects.
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Discussion with Dr Jamir
Title: Listening to the Mountains: Insights from Indigenous Mountain Food Systems for a Resilient Future
Abstract for the talk :
This talk draws on Dr Jamir’s journey from an Indigenous tribal community in the mountainous state of Nagaland, in India’s Eastern Himalayan region, to global academic and research spaces, and ultimately back to the landscapes that shaped my identity and worldview. Her research focuses on the food systems of Indigenous mountain communities—ecosystems that are among the most ecologically fragile and climate vulnerable yet socially resilient in the world. Within these environments, farmers cultivate not only crops but also culture, biodiversity, and adaptive wisdom accumulated over generations. However, they are currently at crossroads as they face various form of climate risks.
In this presentation, she explore how Indigenous knowledge systems inform our understanding of climate resilience and offer grounded perspectives for global food security in the context of accelerating environmental and socio-economic change. Drawing on her research and recent interdisciplinary studies on traditional food systems, she highlight how cultural memory and community-driven innovation sustain livelihoods and ecological balance amid uncertainty.
These insights reveal the sophistication of Indigenous agricultural practices, food preferences, and ecological stewardship, demonstrating their relevance for contemporary debates on climate adaptation and sustainable development.
Session Highlights
To be uploaded after the end of the session