Executive Summary: "In the eastern Himalayas, shifting cultivation is the most prominent farming system, providing a way of life for a large number of ethnic minorities and other poor and marginalised upland communities. The policy approach to deal with shifting cultivation is common across Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Myanmar, the countries in this study, and aims to replace it with permanent forms of land use. The current problems related to shifting cultivation, however, are found to be often as much a result of counterproductive policies as of inappropriate land use practices. Therefore, there is a need across the region for new, more effective and socially more acceptable policy options that help to improve shifting cultivation, rather than replace it. The research presented here identifies farmers? traditional practices and more recent indigenous innovations that contribute to the benefits this farming system has to offer. These benefits accrue both to the practitioners and to other stakeholders, including national governments. Shifting cultivation, and the farmers? innovations in particular, were found to contribute to forest cover and biodiversity conservation, while at the same time maintaining agricultural and forest productivity. Commercial niche products and organic farming contribute to economic development that is adjusted to mountain circumstances and builds on existing potential. The local institutions developed by shifting cultivation communities were found to be relatively strong, and they enhance social security and cultural integrity. Development approaches that build on these existing potentials and capacity are likely to be more achievable and acceptable to the farmers concerned. Realising this potential, and the need for policy change across region, the participants of the ?Shifting Cultivation Regional Policy Dialogue Workshop for the eastern Himalayas?, held in October 2004 in Shillong, India, adopted the Shillong Declaration and formulated concrete policy recommendations based on the research findings of this initiative. The participants included representatives of government agencies, farmers, international bodies, non-government organisations, academia, science and research institutions, local institutions, international donors and development assistance agencies, the private sector, and other professionals. They recommended policy makers to reexamine the policies in place, to remove explicit policies and policy instruments that discourage shifting cultivation, and to strengthen the implementation of existing beneficial policies. They also recommended that they address issues of land tenure security, research, and extension and their impact on traditional shifting cultivation practices; market development and commercialisation of niche products of shifting cultivation; strengthening and capacity building of customary institutions; credit policies in situations where common property regimes apply; and coordination among the different government agencies that have responsibilities for aspects of shifting cultivation.".....Includes the text of The Shillong Declaration on Shifting Cultivation in the Eastern Himalayas.