even a casual visitor to northeast India may observe how depleted the tree cover of the region is. During the dry summer days, one comes across even clouds of dust. In Meghalaya, a new problem, that of drinking water, has been added to the burgeoning list of problems. Forest officials claim no responsibility for the alleged plundering of forests, as they hardly control an appreciable acreage of forests. It is the community represented by the district council which controls and manages the forests. Could community control possibly have led to destruction of forests in this region? How come then, despite largescale deforestation, there is no environmentalists' movement worth its name in the region? That there is a dire need for evolving a communication strategy to create a positive environmental movement in the region, is evident.

Disenchanted woods The pristine forests located on the international and inter-state borders in the northeast are the areas where armed insurgency has been flourishing for decades. The Naga insurgents, the various fora of Manipuri rebels, the Mizo National Front, the United Liberation Front of Assam, the Bodo Security Force and insurgents in Tripura and Meghalaya, station their hide-outs in these