Community Conserved Areas in North East India: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh

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1 Community Conserved Areas in North East India: Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh Sudipto Chatterjee, Sonali Ghosh, Jayanata Sharma, S..K Barik, B.K Tewari and Kulen Das An introduction to Community Conserved Forests of North East India A large part of the forests of Indian of the North Eastern states is reported to be under community ownership and have been broadly classified as Unclassed State Forests. In absence of a clear demarcation of these forests, it is speculated to be around 60% in the North Eastern states. Meghalaya scores the highest with % of its forest area classified as Unclassed forests (SFR, 2005) with a very high degree of community ownership. Traditional and customary rights of more than 225 communities inhabiting the region are protected through the Schedule V and VI of the Indian Constitution. In such a scenario it is obvious that North East India would be hotspot of Community Conserved Area (CCA) since these forests have been maintained, managed and revered by the local communities since ages. Traditional and customary rights of the tribal communities inhabiting the region can therefore be a means of protecting the biodiversity. CCAs in North East exhibit a wide diversity, in terms of ownership, size, management regime and the rationale for their protection. They are found to be at different stages of degradation from pristine and relatively undisturbed to a point of degradation when restoration is not feasible. CCAs are age old as well as newly established, since, at one of the spectrum we find waning of traditional faiths, belief and values at the other end there has been consolidation, re sanctification and declaration of new community conserved areas. Situations also exists where traditional CCAs have been willingly handed over by the communities themselves to the government in wider interests of conservation. CCAs are spread all over North East, their existence however is not apparent in the states of Mizoram and Tripura. Prof K.C. Malhora, an eminent Anthropologist have reported about safety forests of Mizoram which are used for biomass but not timber (Malhotra, K.C. pers. Comm..) This paper has focused on the CCAs of Assam, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh. 1.0 The Community Conserved Areas s of Assam CCA s are broadly be defined as areas where the community of local people have the onus and ownership to protect and manage the natural resource in their vicinity. However, with this definition it is difficult to find such large CCA s in Assam. This is mainly due to the implementation of Imperial Forestry by the British as early as 1875 in the state as a result of which, large tracts of forests were brought under the legal control of the Forest department. For e.g. the Total forest area of Assam is 26,832 sq km out of which 66.58% area belongs to the forest department while only 33.42% is classified as Unclassed State Forests. This is much higher compared to % of total forest area that is under stringent legal control in neighboring Meghalaya (SFR, 2005) Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council Goalpara Marghareta, Lekhapani subdivision of Tinsukia and Kokrajhar area under the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (A table provided in the PDF version has a lot of syntax errors, it is not available with me for corections)

2 Community Conserved Areas in Lower Assam a case study from Bodoland Territorial Council and adjoining areas BTAD (Bodoland Territorial Areas District) also popularly known as Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) is a new born Autonomous council area unravelled from the northern part of western Assam under the sixth schedule of the constitution of India in BTC lies between N to N and E to E longitude and has 4 districts with headquarters at Kokrajhar which was also the original district in Assam. In addition it has 3 new carved out districts of Chirang, Udalguri and Baksa (Fig1). These four districts have been part of 8 districts of Dhubri, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari, Kamrup, Darrang and few villages of Sonitpur district. The river Pachnoi of Sonitpur district is the easternmost boundary and river Sankosh in west, Bhutan in north and Dhubri, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Nalbari and Kamrup districts in south. All the districts in the Council are economically very backward. Majority of the population are agriculturists. The villagers practise traditional agriculture. Poor yield of agricultural crops from small and limited land holding is unable to support the growing village population. Alternative employment opportunities are not available for the rural poor. The people of Bodoland are commonly known as bodos, one of the largest plains tribe communities that predominantly practise agriculture. The other ethnic communities in the area include the Koch-Rajbongshis, Adivasis, Nepalis, and the Garos. Together they constitute more than 60% of the population which is around lakhs (2001 census). The people of bodoland have experienced a long period of turmoil and unrest in the last decade and peace has finally returned with their first democratically elected government in the year After agriculture, forests are the mainstay of Economy in BTC. The area of BTC extends over 8970 sq km out of which 40% of the area is covered with forests. As such BTC has a recorded forest area of sq km most of which is located along the international boundary with Bhutan. The entire northern belt forest is situated in Sub-Himalayan alluvial tract of a typical formation known as Bhabhar tract characterised by low water table and deep bouldery deposits with an underlying sandy loams. The forest types available in BTC range from Semi-deciduous forests in the west with Sal (Shorea robusta) as the dominant tree species to broad leaved wet evergreen forests in the east including Khair Sissoo and Riparian forests. Traditionally, Bodos practice an ancient form of Hinduism that is termed as Bathou. This religion primarily involves the worship of lord Shiva which they represent through the plant Shijou (Euphorbia splendens) that is always planted at a specific location in the courtyard of a bodo household. The branches of the Shijou tree represent the 5 elements (Fire, Wind, Water, Sky and Earth) that Are part of the Universe. Similarly Golden langur is considered sacred as Sugriva; the

3 monkey king mentioned in Ramayana is considered as their ancestor. Their traditional songs and dances such as Bagrumba and Bar-dwi -Sikla also represent nature and describe the symbiotic relationship that Bodos share with forests and wildlife. A few case studies of community conservation in BTC and adjoining areas are mentioned below: 1. Proclamation of Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary- Chakrashila WLS was declared a PA in It is one of the few WLS that has been proclaimed after much public demand. Golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) is a highly endemic and endangered leaf eating monkey that is naturally distributed only between the rivers Sankosh and Manas in western Assam. It is much revered among the Hindu tribals who consider it to be a direct descendant of god hanuman. Over the years the population has been fragmented into 2 distinct subpopulations and rough estimates indicate less than 5000 golden langurs in the fragmented forests of India. Chakrashila wildlife sanctuary represents the largest of the southern forest and therefore restoring connectivity between these patches will be essential for the long term viability of these populations. Chakrashila also harbours a set of sacred mountains Dan duphur that are worshipped during the April festivals. The term Chakrashila is also loosely derived from the word Sikrisikla which means butterfly in bodo language. Besides, Chakrashila WLS, A significant population of Golden langur (120 as per last count in june 2008) also take refuge in Abhaya rubber garden. This rubber garden is a privately owned plantation with a total area of 100 ha and provides the safety of tall canopy trees to this arboreal primate. The owner of the rubber garden (Mr. K.N.Deb) along with the local villagers of Amguri have taken up several initiatives such as providing fodder species to the golden langur so that they are protected. 2. The Gendrabil initiative- Gendrabil is a small patch of Sal (Shorea robusta) forest near kokrajhar town that has been well preserved by the local community since the Bodo tribals of two villages Boro Gendrabil North and Boro Gendrabil South have been able to successfully prevent any illegal felling of trees of this Reserve Forest and as a result 3 troupes of golden langur are residing in this area. 3. Manas Conservation volunteers -Manas National Park is world renowned for its outstanding natural beauty and rich biological heritage. It also has the distinction of being designated as a tiger reserve, a world heritage site, biosphere reserve and part of the Ripu-Chirang elephant reserve. Over the last one decade, Manas was fraught with danger due to ensuing political turmoil and insurgency. Since 2005, after the formation of Bodoland Territorial Council the situation has much improved and is fast returning to normalcy. It is to strengthen the initiatives of the BTC government that young volunteers

4 have joined hands with the forest department and have taken to protect the forests and wildlife in the park. Among these groups, the pioneer among them is Manas Maozegendri Environment society (MMES) that is active in the eastern range of the park. They have been able to convince more than 100 erstwhile poachers to lay down their arms and help in joint patrolling with the conservation volunteers. Several of these young conservation volunteers have also diversified into professional bird watching and have established an eco-tourism camps. Several other NGOs/conservation volunteer groups such as New Horizon at Koila Moila, Panbari Conservation society, Biodiversity Conservation Society at Ultapani and Green Forest Conservation in Kachugaon have been able to provide indirect employment to more than 1500 local young boys whose prime duty is to assist in the protection of forests. 4. Community conservation of Golden Langur in Kakoijana, Bongaigaon District Kakoijana Reserve forest is located in Bongaigaon district and is administered under Aie Valley forest Division. Ten years ago the small moist deciduous hill forest of this area was degraded and the 100 odd golden langurs found in the area were forced to live on the ground due to lack of adequate canopy cover. The forest is surrounded by 27 odd villages with different ethnic communities such as Garos, Rabhas, Advivasis, Bodos and Muslims forming the majority in individual villages. It took a small initiative from a local NGO called Nature s Foster (Mr Arnab Bose) and the support of training and motivation that prompted the communities to protect the forest patch for conservation of the golden langur. Today the forests has sprung back and as a result of this there are more than 400 odd golden langurs reported in this area. Besides conservation of Golden langur, the villagers are also gearing up to conserve the habitat of the hill forest for alternative livelihood options such as eco-tourism and intregrated farming etc. 5. Community conservation of Openbill storks and Lesser Adjutant storks in Arrearjhar- The Asian Openbill Stork, Anastomus oscitans, and the Lesser adjutant Stork Leptoptilos javanicus are large wading birds that are resident breeders in tropical southern Asia from India and Sri lanka east to Southeast Asia. They are also widespread residents in Assam and are seen commonly in urban and rural areas. Every year the open bill storks, built a large nesting colony(of over 300 nests) in the tall Sal (Shorea robusta) trees found in Arrearjhar Reserve Forest located in Dhubri district. Arrearjhar RF borders Kokrajhar district and is also close to Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary. The nests were built on tall Sal trees

as they provided natural protection against ground predators, while the presence of large water bodies such as Dhir beel, a large water body and Champa River offered ample feeding grounds.

More than 50 dead chicks were recovered below the trees and this prompted the villagers to seek technical help in protecting the birds.

5 as they provided natural protection against ground predators, while the presence of large water bodies such as Dhir beel, a large water body and Champa River offered ample feeding grounds. In October 2007, there was a mass mortality due to heavy downpour and thunderstorms. More than 50 dead chicks were recovered below the trees and this prompted the villagers to seek technical help in protecting the birds. With a small grant from Wildlife Trust of India, an NGO and technical advice from experts (Dr Hilloljyoti Singha, PhD) and veterinarians, safety nets were provided below the nesting trees. Two chicks were also recued and successfully hand reared subsequently. Similarly, local village communities in Chapar also provide protection against poaching to lesser adjutant storks and other migratory birds and as a result, the avifauna in the region is rather impressive. Fig 1: Location map of Bodoland Territorial council in Assam Fig 2. Manas maozegendri initiative in Manas National Park

Fig 3: The Rabha Community of Jornagra involved in conservation in Chakrashila WLS Fig

and Chapar areas of Dhubri district Fig 5: Artificial hand rearing of tree fallen

Fig 6: Conservation volunteers from New Horizon, Nature s Foster and others along with

6 Fig 3: The Rabha Community of Jornagra involved in conservation in Chakrashila WLS Fig 4:Community conservation of open bill storks and Lesser adjutant storks in Arrearjhar and Chapar areas of Dhubri district Fig 5: Artificial hand rearing of tree fallen chicks of openbill storks at Arrearjhar. Fig 6: Conservation volunteers from New Horizon, Nature s Foster and others along with forest department staff and experts during the Golden Langur population estimation at Kalamati (Chirang Forest Division) in March 2009.

7 Fig 7: members from gendrabil and other villages adjoining Chakrashila WLS along with Dy. Chief and EM, Forests Shri Kampa Borgayari during the Chakrashila Conservation tourism festival in April Fig:Chakrashila Wildlife sanctuary with its sacred mountains Fig: the endangered golden langur in Abhaya rubber garden

8 References: Athparia, R.P Forest resources management by the Karbis of the hill area of Assam. An Analysis In: Forest Resources in North East India. B. Datta Ray and K. Alam. Omsons publications New Delhi. Anon (2005). State of Forest Report, Forest Survey of India. Ministry of Environment and Forest. Dehradun. India. 171 pp. Bhuyan, B.C Political development of the North East. Vol. I and II Omsons Publication Bhuyan, K. and M.D. Bhuyan Role of autonomous district council in management and conservation of Forest in Karbi Anglong. In: Forest Resources in North East India. B. Datta Ray and K. Alam. Omsons publications New Delhi. Borah, A.K. et. Al Forest Management in Karbi Anglong district of Assam: A futuristic exercise. In: Forest Resources in North East India. B. Datta Ray and K. Alam. Omsons publications New Delhi. Handique, Rajib Birtish forest policy in Assam. Concept Publishing Company. New Delhi Pulloppillil, T. and J. Aluckal. (Eds) The Bodos. Children of Bhullubutter. Spectrum Publications. New Delhi Gurdon, Tiwari, et. al Chatterjee et al, Apatani book Higgins and Chatterjee. The Beyond belief publication Ramakrishnan s paper. On Apatani agroecosystems.

Nokrek Biosphere Reserve. speak in a broad sense, speaking on behalf of the entire earth being a biosphere in which the global

Nokrek Biosphere Reserve. speak in a broad sense, speaking on behalf of the entire earth being a biosphere in which the global Group 2 Dr. Hamilton Bio 110 10/4/2009 Nokrek Biosphere Reserve The definition of the term biosphere can be referred to in several different ways. One may speak in a broad sense, speaking on behalf of