Sustainable development of North East India through people oriented forestry research and extension is the prime motto of Rain Forest Research Institute (RFRI), Jorhat, a constituent institute of the  Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun. This is one of the most diverse regions of India, in terms of ecological, socio-economic, cultural, topographic, climatic and ethnic point of view. Nearly one-fourth of the country’s forest is located in the region, which is under tremendous pressure due to demands of economic development. The region is one of the biodiversity hotspots of the world. Therefore, there is a need to balance the needs of conservation and development.
We at RFRI, Jorhat are striving to provide information on biodiversity and the conservation requirements and also on the development needs, to the decisions makers, so that they take informed decisions. The research and extension at RFRI is oriented towards poverty alleviation and sustainable development. The Institute has two centres - Forest Research Centre for Bamboo and Rattans (FRC-BR) at Aizawl, Mizoram and Forest Research Centre for Livelihoods and Extension (FRC-LE) at Agartala, Tripura.