Equip Forest Guards to Protect Wildlife in India

Hello Friend,

As the monsoons hit India, we bring to you a fresh update from the lush green forests of Arunachal Pradesh, nestled in the north-eastern corner of the country.

Shergaon village in West Kameng district, Arunachal Pradesh is an untouched landscape of thick temperate forests and scenic mountains that extend along Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary. The valleys of Shergaon and Rupa districts are widely inhabited by a close- knit community called the Sherdukpens. Like most residents of Arunachal, the people of Shergaon also depend on agriculture and forest produce for basic sustenance. Their deep rooted culture with nature has in turn developed the community’s sharp tracking skills in identifying medicinal flora and also hunting animals, for purely self-consumption only. Over the years, village heads and local organisations like Garung Thuk, in the village understood the need to control their dependence of forest resources and rather concentrate on protecting their rich biodiversity, thereby introduced strict laws to protect both their flora and fauna.

The community today judiciously follow no commercial logging, hunting of protected species & migratory birds in the village. Being traditional hunters, adapting to such change was a challenging task for the people. To further encourage their change in attitude it was necessary to involve the youth of the village in making them the ‘Guardians of Shergaon’. Wildlife Trust of India with the support of Global Giving organised Nature-guide training sessions at Eaglenest Wildlife sanctuary explaining the importance of their wildlife rich surroundings and uniqueness of its beauty. An exposure field visit to Kaziranga National park was also arranged to help the youth understand the benefits of ecotourism and conserving our natural surroundings.  These activities opened up a whole new avenue to the community of Shergaon in motivating them to protect their community forests.

The selected twenty participants are currently patrolling the Shergaon Forest Division along with the frontline staff in monitoring their community forest landscape with special emphasis to curbing hunting activities. Under the guidance of DFO Millo Tasser, On 18^th June, The patrolling team were felicitated with certificates of appreciation and field kits- comprising of Binoculars, rain jacket and caps in the presence of Shri Rinchong Lama, Chairman, Shergaon village council, Village headman and Shri L.K.Thungon, Extra Assistant Commissioner ( EAC).

Every June-July, the community celebrates the festival of Saka Dawa, where there is a complete ban on hunting, fishing and any kind of killing of animals for fifteen days. The month is considered holy and the people avoid consuming meat of any kind for this time period. However, since WTI’s intervention with mobilising the youth has enforced the community to unanimously agree on extending the ban period to over a month. This decision has immensely helped in bringing back the fish population in the rivers today.

The trained youth have thus provided the forest department with additional manpower to patrol this vast forest cover of Shergaon. We hope the young minds continue protecting these pristine forests and simultaneously weave their traditional knowledge into the folds of conservation.

It is because of your support that we have been able to tend to such activities. We at WTI thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Best,

Team WTI