DIMAPUR:
In the light of frequent human-elephant conflicts in Wokha district, Nagaland, a day-long workshop on counter wildlife and biodiversity conservation was organised on March 12.
This workshop was a joint effort by the Nagaland Forest Department Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), India and the Nagaland State Biodiversity Board (NSBB) at Tiyi Hall in Wokha district headquarters.
It focused on community involvement towards conservation of wildlife, along with identification of commonly traded species and court procedure, besides human-elephant conflict.
Speaking on the various aspects of community involvement in wildlife conservation, the NSBB chairperson Satya Prakash Tripathi emphasised the significance of such workshops and training to ensure that wildlife management policies are effectively implemented.
WCS-India team leader, Dev Prakash Bankhwal stressed on deforestation and habitat degradation as primary threats to the survival of wildlife, adding how species can no longer survive with the changes in the ecosystem.
Terming illegal wildlife trade a “very serious offence”, he called upon a collective taskforce comprising the state police and forest department to enforce the relevant wildlife acts to control the menace.
Steve Odyuo from Natural Nagas, an environmental conservation organisation, maintained how various human activities like hunting, illegal mining, exploitation of forest resources and poaching, among others, have resulted in a steady decline of wildlife species.
Also present at the workshop was additional Deputy Commissioner (DC), Lankonsen T Tsanglao.
Adding that wild animals have always been a critical resource for human beings, he said, “The age-old practice of hunting should be discouraged. Considering the extinction of several species, our focus now should be on conservation for our present and future generation.”
Rishika Gupta from WCS-India spoke during the technical session where she emphasised on wildlife crime and law enforcement, while Shubhra Sotie dwelled on scheduled animals and wild animals, to name a few.
Notably, the nationwide Synchronised Elephant Population Estimation (SEPE), 2017, was conducted by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change. According to the census, Nagaland has an elephant population of 446, with the elephant density per square km in the state being 0.45 per cent.