(IN): Hunter turns guide for green teams in Namdapha

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Link: http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070709/asp/northeast/story_8032597.asp

 

Hunter turns guide for green teams in Namdapha

- Conservation foundation turns to Lisu tribesmen to save endangered species

and generate awareness ROOPAK GOSWAMI

 

Lisu tribesmen fix a camera-trap at the park. Picture by Aparajita Dutta

 

*Guwahati, July 8:* The stealthy footsteps that once scoured forests to

capture unsuspecting prey, now lead conservationists to rare species on the

brink of extinction.

 

Akhi Nathany, a Lisu tribesman of Arunachal Pradesh, has traded his hunting

gear for binoculars. The credit for the exchange goes to Nature Conservation

Foundation, a Mysore-based group that aims to conserve wildlife in Arunachal

Pradesh by involving tribal communities.

 

Nathany, now a gram panchayat member, is the main field co-ordinator of the

foundation. The 55-year-old has donned the mantle of a guide, directing

conservation teams with their camera-traps to even the most inaccessible of

Namdapha National Park.

 

" People like him have unmatched knowledge of the terrain and landscape of

the park. He will just find a way out of nowhere and navigate you to where

you want to go. We just explain some features of the area we want to go to

and show him some streams and other reference points on a map and he takes

us there, without any trails or tracks. Without his help, it would have been

impossible to conduct camera-trap surveys, " said Aparajita Datta, a

scientist working with the foundation.

 

The organisation works primarily with the Lisu tribe that has settled on the

fringes of the reserve forest. Several former hunters are engaged in the

wildlife monitoring program which offers return benefits like medical

support, training in healthcare and education, by supporting schools and

teachers in the villages.

 

The park sprawls over an area of 1,985.23 square km on the international

border between India and Myanmar, in Arunachal's Changlang district.

 

Aparajita pointed out that as most of the work has to be done on foot, the

teams need people to ferry rations and equipment.

 

" We need people to go back to get rations as they run out. Also, we place

one trap in a particular location for 15 days, and then move on to new

spots. But we would like to place the camera-traps simultaneously. As we

have a limited number of traps at our disposal, some of the Lisus go back to

retrieve the contraptions from earlier locations and bring them to the next

spot, " she said.

 

A community protection force for the park has also been mooted. As many as

25 species of mammals, including 10 rare and endangered breeds like the

clouded leopard, Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear and marbled cat, have

been spotted here.

 

The organisation is also enlisting the help of the tribe to prepare an

educational CD in Hindi for children in the state. " We will get a Nishi or

Lisu narrator once the visuals, audio and script for the CD are put

together, " she said.

 

Livelihood options for the Lisus have also been discussed. Leaders of the

community have suggested starting a piggery to meet consumption and income

needs.

 

" After much discussion, a plan has been worked out where beneficiaries will

be identified and modalities framed accordingly. This will involve

contributions from the community in the form of labour and manpower.

Financial assistance for the piggery will be provided by the foundation as

initial investments. Work will begin around September or October, after the

monsoon, " Aparajita informed.

 

The foundation has also contacted organisations in Guwahati, Bangalore and

New Delhi to promote indigenous Lisu handicrafts.

 

" Samples, pictures and product descriptions have been sent to two commercial

enterprises as well as some entrepreneurs. The effort has yielded some

supplementary income for a few families here. We have also granted financial

support to a partner NGO near Namdapha to help set up a tribal handicrafts

shop that will enable villagers to augment their income. We hope it will go

a long way in generating awareness among local residents and tourists about

the park. The shop is ready and will be open in time for the winter tourist

traffic, " she said.

 

 

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