EMN
DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 5
The Pangti Village Council has received the RBS Earth Heroes Awards 2014 in the RBS ‘Save The Species’ Award category. The award has been given away by Union Minister of Environment and Forests and Climate Change Prakash Javadkar to Ronchamo Shitiri, Chairman Pangti Village Council and M .Lokeswara Rao Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forest Force on November 4, 2014 at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts(IGNCA) New Delhi. Pangti village elders R. Obemomo Jami, Head Gaon Bura of Pangti Village, Nribemo Lotha, Member of Pangti Village Amur Falcon Committee, Y. Phyosao Jami, Member of Pangti Village Amur Falcon Committee and Chumdemo Ngullie and Obed Bohovi Swu Forest Officer were present during award ceremony. The Award carries a citation and a cash award of Rs.1,50,000.
Pangti Village Council is the awardee of Royal Bank of Scotland Earth Heroes Awards 2014 under Save the Species Category for leading in the innovative and extensive efforts to protect the Amur Falcons. The award is also for an innovative model practised by the village to stop the killing and conserve the Amur Falcons by working cohesively with the Forest Department, local police and civilians.
The village is also selected for the award as arrival and roosting of the Amur Falcons has been witnessed for a long period of time due to the efforts of Pangti Village Council.
The jury, while recommending the Pangti Village Council for the awards observed that the protection of Amur Falcons, Falco amurensis during its migratory halt in Nagaland is one of the most outstanding conservation successes and is the outcome of the concerted efforts of its key stakeholders that includes political leadership, Government of Nagaland and Nagaland Forest Dept, the people of Nagaland in several villages and organizations.
The jury includes experts from the field of conservation, bio-diversity, science, government, media, The Royal Bank of Scotland N.V, National Biodiversity Authority and the Bombay Natural History Society.
M Lokeswara Rao, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Head of the Forests has congratulated and all the villagers of Pangti village community for getting the Royal Bank of Scotland Earth Heroes Award 2014 in the RBS Save The Species Award Category. “This award is in recognition of the tremendous and exemplary contribution of all the people of Pangti village and this award will boost up the conservation efforts of flora and fauna by the communities in different villages in Nagaland,” Rao said.
RBS has institutionalized the RBS ‘Earth Heroes’ Awards from 2011 to recognize and honour individuals and institutions who work exceptionally hard to preserve and protect our critical eco-systems. The RBS Foundation India, as a not-for-profit entity of RBS is actively supporting conservation by providing sustainable livelihoods to forest dependent communities especially in the ecologically fragile landscapes and other locations in the country. The livelihood projects are helping poor households enhance their incomes from alternative sources of livelihoods, undertake natural resource management and thereby pave way for a constructive relationship between communities and efforts towards conservation.
