Our Correspondent
Kohima | July 26
In the wake of the drought-like condition prevailing in the state due to scanty rainfall this year, realisation has now dawned on the Chakhesang community on the importance of biodiversity conservation. This emerged at the recently concluded workshop on biodiversity conservation in Phek district organised by the Chakhesang Public Organization (CPO). Several paddy and jhum fields have been affected due to scanty rainfall this year.
Now, around 55 Chakhesang villages will be taking up mass tree plantation, CPO president Yesonu Veyie told mediapersons on Saturday. In the form of a resolution adopted during the workshop, the CPO said that plantation programmes will be taken up by the people to create conservation corridors. Each family will plant at least 10 trees every year to stop habitat fragmentation. It was also felt that NREGA funds may be utilised for tree plantation in creation of conservation corridors in locations such as Porba, Mesulumi, Tsupfume, etc.
The Chakhesang community expressed its desire to utilise the NREGA fund for tree plantation, for which the CPO will take the initiative in forwarding the suggestion to the state government. The CPO president also stated that following the killing of wild animals and birds, the caterpillar and rat population had increased in Phek district last year. The workshop resolved that individual villages would guard their traditional areas. Village Biodiversity Management Committees will be set up in all the Chakhesang villages and these committees will be responsible for taking care of and maintaining all information on the villages’ bio-resources and all traditional knowledge systems and practices.
It was resolved to educate all the people in regard to conservation and not only to create awareness. This will be taken up through various institutions and churches. The organisation further resolved to ban non-locals’ involvement in commercial logging activities. In the form of a resolution on supportive regulatory and legal framework, it was resolved to coordinate with the district administration to strengthen the regulations in regard to action taken by the village authority.
Village councils will also impose stringent control on use of weapons, traps, etc. The youths of all villages will be empowered to take control measures and action with regard to conservation. The CPO will also conduct surprise checks at all retail points to check marketing and trading of wild animals and birds. The CPO will issue instructions to various town councils to restrict people from going to the village forests for hunting.
It was also resolved to empower the Chakhesang Youth Front (CYF) to take measures for biodiversity conservation, while the administration and the CPO will also create supportive environment to back up village actions. Further, the workshop also resolved that all should support the people’s aspirations for conservation of biodiversity.
Dr. Neizo Puro, lecturer at Fazl Ali College, Mokokchung, who was the resource person at the workshop and also present at the press conference, termed the workshop as unique adding that it was the coming together of government agencies, public and academicians to discuss at length on conservation of biodiversity. He also stated that the initiatives, as of now, are confined to the Chakhesang community but said it would fetch global impact. Dr. Puro stressed that the resolution arrived at during the workshop was not an imposition from the CPO or the government but that it was the outcome of the people’s consciousness to initiate various steps for conservation of biodiversity.
Vengota Nakro, Deputy Director for soil & water conservation, and Project Operation Unit member (NEPED), said the resolution was generated by the people themselves and that the Chakhesang community had vowed to conserve the biodiversity in their respective villages.
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