Peren, Mon, and Phek districts lead the list of areas in
Nagaland that enjoy the care of community conservation efforts in the form of
community conserved areas to help push forward the agenda of ecological
balance, and preservation and protection of natural forest resources.
A recent study by a non-governmental organization and the
Forest department of the state show some interesting findings about the state
of conservation in Nagaland.
The Forest department of Nagaland and the Energy and Resources Institute (ERI) of New Delhi organized a workshop about community conservation areas in Nagaland on October 29 in Kohima town, during which the findings were the focus of discussion.
Officials from ERI and the Forest department, and members of village councils and officials from the NEPED, participated in the work shop, the organizers informed in a note issued to the media on Wednesday. The press was issued by the office of the PCCF.
In partnership with the department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Energy and Resources Institute carried out a study titled “Inventory and Documentation of Community Conserved Areas in Nagaland.”
The objectives of study were:
·
- To assist the Nagaland Forest department in preparing an inventory of community conserved areas in the state covering the entire 11 districts. The study was undertaken with the help of the department’s staff.
- · To identify new undocumented community conserved areas through questionnaires and surveys
- · To prepare a ‘peoples biodiversity register for sample community conserved areas to document indigenous ecological knowledge.
“After completing the study, TERI is submitting report containing an inventory of community conserved areas in Nagaland. The study will help to get the international funding to the communities forests are conserving and for their carbon stock,” the organizers said in the press release.
The chief guest of the event, Minister of Forests, Environment and Wildlife, Dr Nicky Kire released the ‘People Biodiversity Register of Sukhai,’ a documentary and another called titled ‘Roam Free,’ focusing on man-animal conflict.
Speaking during the occasion, Minister Dr Nicky Kire said that the documentation of community conservation reserves of Nagaland will ‘help to get the baseline data and also help in management of said areas.’
‘This documentation perhaps forms the basis for increasing awareness of Nagaland’s conservation initiatives, both in India and abroad. The documentation can also form the basis of future ecotourism initiatives and awareness program and campaigns, many of which are already happening (e.g. efforts against the mass slaughter of Amur Falcons),’ the politician said. ‘There is a need to conserve these areas by involving local communities.’
During the event, M. Lokeswara Rao, the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests called Nagaland a state with ‘rich community conservation reserves’ and where people protect the conservation areas “since time immemorial to mitigate climate change they became carbon sink and rich with carbon stock.”
The organizers said that the study, titled “Inventory and Documentation of Community Conserved Areas in Nagaland” of the institute, has “3 deliverables; an exhaustive list of community conservation initiatives in all the 11 districts of Nagaland, a People’s Biodiversity Register for village Sukhai, Zunheboto district and a documentary depicting the efforts of Nagas in declaring and managing community conserved areas.”
Also, Siddarth Edake, an associate fellow of the ERI, presented findings about community conservation areas in Nagaland. Also, Dr Pia Sethi, fellow of ERI, presented case study on the Peoples Biodiversity Register of Sukhai.
Also addressing the program was JV Sharma, a senior fellow of ERI. He said that although many villages had community conservation reserves there were 407 community conserved areas that account for almost a third of the total number of villages (1428 as per 2011 census data) in the state of Nagaland. They have been identified based on international criteria for declaring areas as community conserved areas, he said.
Peren district has the maximum number of community conserved areas viz., 74 community conserved areas accounting for 18% of the total, followed by Mon district with 69 community conserved areas accounting for 17%, and Phek district with 66 community conserved areas accounting for 16% of the total.
‘There is large scope of these community conserved areas getting help from the international organizations since they are conserving forests since time immemorial,’ Sharma said.
According to the organizers, the ‘international criteria for
declaring areas as community conserved areas are:
- · Community conserved area is managed by the local community
- · Community conserved areas have been declared by resolutions passed by village councils
- · Regulations / ban on hunting, log-felling,
fishing, ‘jhum’ cultivation by the village in the community conserved area that
are being followed earnestly
- · Existence of traditional knowledge and practices for conservation of biological resources and ecosystem services
- · Community conserved area has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Forest department for conservation
Some of the findings
Out of the documented 407 community conserved areas, a total of 311 areas (77%) were declared by resolutions passed by the village councils and tribal organizations, while 91 community conserved areas (22%) had an ‘informal understanding,’ according to the report makers.
‘Land ownership patterns of community conserved areas in Nagaland are variable with ownership largely belonging to various clans (72% of the areas) followed by individuals (56% of the areas). Only 31% of the community conserved areas have land holdings that belong to village councils and can be termed as community land.’
Also, as many as 84% of the community conserved areas include those with primary forest that have never been ‘jhummed.’ Also, of the community conserved areas some have secondary forests that have not been ‘jhummed’ for more than 25 years, the report stated.
“This suggests that a significant number of community conserved areas include either primary forest or old-growth forests within their community conserved areas, although the area under each is not known, or whether they cover significant areas of each community conserved areas.
A significant percentage of CCAs (33%) also include abandoned jhums and/or plantations (20%) within their territories.”
Further, much of the land under community conserved areas is private lands and private owners ‘want to cut trees for generating financial resources,’ the report makers said.
“We cannot have ecology at the cost of poor people. The efforts made by community should be compensated. The Government of Nagaland must identify such areas and send a proposal to the Government of India for the compensation on the basis of carbon stock maintained by community, and also their efforts for biodiversity conservation.”
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