Arunachal: Pasighat Forest Division conducts biodiversity awareness programme at Rani village
PASIGHAT- ( By Maksam Tayeng ) – In a bid to make people aware about the protection and conservation of biodiversity (wildlife and forests), the Pasighat Forest Division today conducted a day long awareness programme at Rani village here in East Siang district amidst the presence of village Gaon Burahs, PRI leaders and student leaders.
Speaking on the sideline of the awareness programme as resource persons, Dr. Kento Kadu, an Asst. Professor, HoD of Zoology, Jawaharlal Nehru College, Pasighat and Dr. Vikram Singh, a Professor of College of Horticulture & Forestry, Pasighat, laid emphasis on the time bound and compulsory need to conserve and protect the biodiversity of the region in order to maintain ecological balance and healthy environment.
“There are many people among our communities and societies today who are involved in continuous hunting practices in the name of tradition and culture. But in the old traditional system of our ancestors, there had no use of destructive means of hunting weapons like modern day Airguns, Point-two-two (.22) and other guns.
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Only bow and arrows with traditional trapping systems were used then where wild animals used to pose threat to human. But now, wild animals are hugely under threat from human due to excessive hunting and poaching. And due to such rampant hunting activities, especially for commercial purposes, many wild animals are killed. So need of the hour is to change our mindset and reform our traditional system to balance our environment”, said Dr. Kadu.
While Dr. Singh spoke in details about the possible and existing impact on environment due to unabated killings of wild animals, birds and felling of trees. “Crops yield are affected due to killing of birds as insects and mice which are naturally regulated by birds damages the crops due to increase of their population in the lesser absence of birds.
The killing of birds, especially the migratory birds stop visiting the places where they usually used to visits before. The preservation and protection of wildlife and bird will increase their numbers which in turn will attract tourism thereby promoting eco-tourism in your area thereby giving employment opportunities to the local youths”, added Dr. Singh.
Meanwhile, participating in the awareness programme, Head Gaon Burah of Rani village, Shri Talom Tatak, Gaon Burahs, Tapang Tamuk and Kinung Jamoh shared their views on environmental misbalancing impact on human lives.
Tatak said that the rivers which once used to be perennial in the past and source of water are no dried up due to felling of trees all around. “We must plant more trees in order to bring back the environmental balance and we appeal the forest department to help us plant more trees.
And I personally discourage community hunting which has adverse impact on wildlife population”, added Tatak. While one of the GB Tapang Tamuk recalled that, they don’t used to use mosquito nets in the past and temperature that time were also used to be normal unlike present day situation where extreme weather condition are affecting the villagers due to rapid decline of wildlife and forests.
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While another GB of the village Kinung Jamoh said that such awareness programme is required among the officers and rich men in the towns like Pasighat as most of them are persons responsible for financing and supporting hunting.
“Such awareness programme should be conducted in the conference of Dy. Commissioner involving officers, politicians and rich men like businessmen, as they sponsors guns and bullets including financing and supporting them financially for hunting”, added Jamoh while discouraging community hunting. Former ZPM, Tajing Taki also spoke on the urgent need to protect and preserve the biodiversity.
On the part of forest department, DFO, Dr. Hano Moda welcomed the supportive approach of the village authorities to shun hunting and opined hope that the village community will come in support of stopping community hunting in Reserve Forest areas like Pasighat, Lokki, Kemi and Poba RFs. RFOs, Neeraj Tamuk (Pasighat RF), Opang Jamoh (Ruksin) and Domek Koyu (Mebo) also spoke on the occasion. Total of 30 tree saplings were also distributed among the public by DFO Dr. Hano Moda.
