ANIMALS AS WEATHER-FORECASTING BIO-INDICATORS A CASE STUDY OF DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES OF BISHNUPUR DISTRICT, MANIPUR, NE INDIA."

The indigenous people of Manipur, particularly those confined in Bishnupur district, have vast applications of traditional knowledge predicting the weather forecast using bioindicators based on the behaviour of animals. The bioindicators are mainly based on the behavioral of animals. The use of bioindicators is an innovative approach for assessing various types of environmental mismanagement, including pollution, high input farming, inappropriate disposal of wastes, contamination, etc. The successful applications of the forecasting knowledge are based on comparison with past events, good prognosis, close observation and a thorough understanding of the local environment. Local community members, cultural leaders and local elders have observed recent abnomalies in the weather, with unusual rains and abrupt changes in temperature. Due to this phenomenon, some plant species are changing their growth patterns. This type of traditional knowledge has excellent for wider application, in Bishnupur as elsewhere; there is a threat to people?s livelihoods and cultural diversity. Today, there is an urgent need to document all traditional knowledge and folklore among the diverse ethnic communities before the traditional cultures are completely lost.