MNP authority eyes women power to boost conservation

Guwahati: A premier biodiversity conservation organization, Aarayak in collaboration with the  authority of Manas National Park (MNP) has undertaken a unique initiative to facilitate visit  of 1200 women from fringe villages to the picturesque Manas National Park, a UNESCO World  Heritage Site in Assam bordering Bhutan in order to induce them to contribute towards its  conservation efforts.
In the first phase, Aaranyak and the MNP authority have already organised a day-long trip for  100 women from villages bordering Bansbari, Bhuyanpara and Panbari ranges to Manas National  Park to help them have the first hand experience of the park’s wonderful ambience, its  resources and its importance to our environment as a whole.
“These women from various villages at the fringe of the Manas National Park have visited the  park for the first time in their life though they live so close to it. The objective of the  initiative is to make the women folk understand the importance of the flora and fauna of the  picturesque wildlife habitat so that they are motivated to contribute their mite towards its  conservation efforts. They can play a great role to dissuade their men and sons to refrain  from indulging in poaching and other illegal activities inside the Park,” said Dr Bibhuti P Lahkar, a senior biologist of Aaranyak.
The women visitors are being selected from 120 women SHGs which are working in coordination  with Aaranyak for exploration of alternative livelihood options . Total 1200 village women  will be facilitated to visit the MNP this winter in different groups. The MNP authority has promised not to charge any fees from such women groups visiting the park.
A representative of Sonali SHG who was among the first batch of 100 women to have visited the MNP , said, All along it (the park) has been so close to us, but have never got a chance to  visit and see its wonderful inside. Now, after my visit, I have realized, how beautiful and importance it is for us all. We must preserve it at any cost.
Manas National Park is a 2840 square kilometer of picturesque landscape characterized by rich floral and faunal resources and located in Western Assam in the foothills of Bhutan Himalayas.
It is a unique wildlife protection area in the country which has got five different  conservation statuses – a tiger reserve, world heritage site, biosphere reserve, national park and an elephant reserve. Manas Park harbours more than 20 Schedule I species as listed in the Wildlife Protection Act of India.