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DIMAPUR — Aringle Hiekha, treasurer of the Jalukie Students’ Union Nagaland (JSUN), represented the student body at the International Society of Ethnobiology (ISE) Congress 2024 in Marrakech, Morocco, held from May 15 to the 19th.
According to a delayed press release received on Monday, Hiekha participated in a session titled “What does it mean to conduct indigenous research in the case of the restoration of a landscape?”
It mentioned that it was the first time the Zeme language of the Jalukie people was heard at an international forum. The release further mentioned that there are only around 300 households of the Jalukie people remaining.
It said that JSUN, under the guidance of the Jalukie Pumling Nko and in collaboration with GroundUp Conservation, initiated local capacity building for research techniques and documentation.
The long-term vision of the Jalukie Pumling Nko is to create the next generation of leaders who will continue to safeguard the land and culture. Using this documentation and research, the community aims to design a pathway to sustainable local entrepreneurial projects that support biodiversity conservation and livelihoods in Jalukie.
Hiekha now leads the coordination between the team from JSUN and GroundUp Conservation. The team has now grown to five members, who are being supported by the Jalukie Pumling Nko and its subsidiary organisations.
Together, they engage in vegetation sampling research, bird monitoring, and the documentation of traditional knowledge about important species, as well as fundraising, report writing, and networking to advance their vision.