Our Correspondent
Kohima, May 4 (EMN): The need to improve a dwindling revenue generation by the department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was the underlying concern that dominated Nagaland’s Senior Forest Officers’ Conference held Friday at the office of the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) in Kohima.
Minister of the department, CM Chang, who was a special guest at the conference, said the annual revenue collection made by the department has become negligible and underscored for the department officers to put their heads together to improve this area. The legislator did not mince words to put across that the department was once a reputed but not anymore as he made a clarion call to restore its lost popularity.
Stating that everyone in the department was responsible for the present deficiencies, Chang urged upon all the officers and staff to demonstrate more honesty, sincerity, cooperation and understanding towards one another as well as to their work.
With regard to the implementation of various projects under the department, he underscored the need for setting targets for completion or implementation ahead of the stipulated date/time, which, he felt would not only help the department but the people of the state.
He also said that with a decline in forest cover in the state, the department must endeavour to acquire/purchase more land from the communities or private owners. Recalling his recent meeting with the union minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Dr. Harsh Vardhan, who he said had assured support and also asked for the state department to explore provisions where the central government would be able to provide aid. Towards this, he asked the officers to work out on necessary provisions for onward submission to the union ministry.
OSD to the department, Atsase Thongtsar in his address, highlighted that India will be the global host of this year’s World Environment Day set to take place on June 5, 2018 with ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’ as the theme. Pointing out that the world would be coming together to combat single-use plastic, he called upon the department to plan, strategise and organise the occasion in a befitting manner.
The official also asked all the officers and staff of the department to begin working, if they were yet to, with regard to the 100-day report target which the Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio had sought from the legislator in charge of the department.
Three books launched
During the inaugural session, minister Chang launched the official website of the department and also released three books: dual volume (of the) Flora of Nagaland compiled by Prof. Sapu Changkija of SASRD Nagaland University and Dr. PB Gurung of North-Eastern Hill University; ‘Gu Si Khang Le’ (The Delightful Forest of Tuensang, 2nd edition) compiled by S Tiakaba Chang and N Imtisangba Chang; and a report on Conservation Assessment and Management Prioritization for Medicinal Plants (CAMP) of Nagaland compiled by the forest department and the Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions (FRLHT).
The ‘Flora of Nagaland’ volumes contain a detailed inventory of the state’s plant-wealth based on extensive botanical explorations undertaken over 10 years, including critical study of herbarium specimens and consultations of relevant literature. The two books are documented with analytical keys, specimen description, correct nomenclature and other features.
“This work will be a positive welcome to foresters, planners, botanists, students and will provide a solid foundation for economic development of the state,” PCCF I Panger Jamir stated in the foreword of the books. “At the backdrop of the crucial role of plants in human existence, there is a undeniable urgent need to record and study the available plant species of an area to assess the extent of forest depletion and take corrective measures towards conservation, preservation and regeneration,” he added while commending Prof. Changkija and Dr. Gurung for their work towards achieving this.
Meanwhile, forest guards Tiakaba and Imtisangba who compiled the ‘Gu Si Khang Le’, a Chang-Naga-dialect-to-English scientific name of the flora and fauna found in Tuensang district’s sub-tropical pine forests, have exhibited the aspiration of which a true professional possesses. They have, as forest guards, while understanding the responsibility of being stewards of all beings, taken to task the exploration of the rich flora and fauna of their district and documented the indigenous names which were passed down by the forefathers, alongside the scientific names. Their objective was to make known to the younger generation, the traditional names of the flora and fauna that are found in their area.
“This book can serve as a basic guide to explore the beautiful forest of Tuensang district and can also be a foothold for further deeper and higher research,” stated Dr. Sentitula, a forest officer. The book contains 80 different identities of trees, 68 scientific and indigenous names of herbs and shrubs, 48 flowers and 104 varieties of birds in glossy pages with pictorial information and depiction as well.
As for the Nagaland CAMP, it is a compilation based on syntheses of regional expertise in medicinal plants taxonomy and distribution through a workshop held in Dimapur in 2015. The compilation was edited by Bangalore-based FRLHT advisor Dr. K Ved and three others.
