. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific. Shifting Cultivation Absent Remnontol Distribulion Only Frequently Present Dominant, but not Extlusrve. >. IV Figure The distribution of shifting cultivation practices in the Asia- Pacific Region adapted trom Spencer, 1966) This is not to say that wildUfe is always welcome - far from it. Condaminas (1977), working among the Mnong Gar of Vietnam's Central Higlands, reported the excitement that surrounded the ripening grain crops; 'More time is given to guarding the fields against marauding wild animals. Most fie
. The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests: Asia and the Pacific. Shifting Cultivation Absent Remnontol Distribulion Only Frequently Present Dominant, but not Extlusrve. >. IV Figure The distribution of shifting cultivation practices in the Asia- Pacific Region adapted trom Spencer, 1966) This is not to say that wildUfe is always welcome - far from it. Condaminas (1977), working among the Mnong Gar of Vietnam's Central Higlands, reported the excitement that surrounded the ripening grain crops; 'More time is given to guarding the fields against marauding wild animals. Most field huts are occupied every night, but for all the watchers' precautions, wild boar, deer, and bears manage to elude their vigilance. On two occasions, there have even been un- welcome visits from a herd of elephants that hitherto had been content to ravage other areas. During the day, clouds of predatory birds swoop down on the young grain and must be driven off; the sharp crackle of the scarecrows and the shouts of the watchers blend with the clear-toned music of the rustic .xylophone.' In New Guinea, an important part of the swidden process is the construction of sturdy fences to exclude the wild pigs, and to contain the domestic pigs when they are turned loose in the swidden after the main crops have been harvested. In their quest for tubers, these pigs soften and aerate the soil and thin the regenerating seedlings (Rap- paport, 1972), thereby playing an important role in accelerating the regrowth of forest. Throughout tropical Asia and the Pacific, wild, feral and domestic pigs form an important part of almost all swidden systems. A wide range of crops, often over 100 at one time, occur in swiddens and the regenerating fallow forest. Among the Lua (Lawa) of northern Thailand, about 120 crop species are planted, including 75 for food, 21 for medicine, 20 for ceremonial or decorative pur- poses, and seven for weaving or dyes. The fallow areas continue to be productive for gra
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