[caption id="attachment_251576" align="aligncenter" width="500"]
Forest department officials and village functionaries pose for a group photograph during an awareness programme in Kidima community reserve forest.[/caption]
Dimapur, May 28 (EMN): Various villages in Kohima district have assured to conserve and promote wildlife within their respective jurisdiction.
The villages made this assurance during the seminar/ awareness programme on community reserve and wildlife protection organized by Wildlife Division, Dimapur, for communities and clans from May 23 to 25.
The seminar for Viswema, Kidima, Kezoma, Sakhabama was held on May 22, while a similar programme for Kwhuma, Jotsoma, Khravalie Nuomiako, Tsiesema was held on May 23 and for Perazatsa, Yaoke, and Gariphema was held on May 25.
The awareness programme was participated by the communities, clans, landowners and stakeholders of the respective reserve forests.
In his speeches, Tokaho H Kinimi, Wildlife Warden, Dimapur, congratulated the communities, clans for getting their community reserves recognised by the government. He also lauded the selfless efforts of the communities and clans in protecting and conserving their forests and wildlife.
He informed that MoEF & CC, GoI, through Wildlife Wing, department of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Government of Nagaland, as nodal agency, provides financial assistance to community reserve forests committees to carryout various wildlife habitat enrichment activities such as construction/ creation of waterholes, saltlicks, planting of fruit trees species etc for wild animals and birds as wildlife requires sufficient water, food, shelter and space to survive.
He also said that alternative livelihood measures such as distribution of piglets and poultry were carried out to reduce people’s dependence on forests and wildlife for animal protein.
Beside these, he stated that watchtowers/ lookout towers to check poaching, illegal logging, fire inside the community reserve forests, construction of footpaths, resting sheds etc, could also be incorporated through the APO for possible funding by the ministry.
He asked the clans and communities to submit need-based developmental activities/ works/ components required to be taken up in their respective community reserves when the survey/ inspecting team visit their respective community reserved forests so that it could be taken up in the new proposal.
He further solicited the support and cooperation of the communities and appealed to the participants to make sincere and concerted efforts towards securing the future of wildlife.
Chairmen of the respective village community reserve forests have assured full support and cooperation to the department and committed towards preserving and protecting wildlife and forests within their jurisdiction.
