By H H Mohrmen
Though Community-led Eco Conservation is not what we would exactly call it yet the Khasi-Pnars have similar tradition of protecting and conserving the ecosystem particularly forests, where the people take the lead in conserving the environment. It is heartening to learn that we have not only successfully continued with the tradition and kept our ’Law Adong; ’Law Kyntang and in some cases even ’Law Shnong or ’Law Kur intact, but in some areas people have begun new conservation efforts to protect the biodiversity of the area. Ironically though Jaintia Hills is often in the news for the wrong reason of having three of its major rivers dead, yet many of these new efforts are aimed at protecting the rivers in entire Jaintia hills.
Not very long ago the anglers in Jowai decided to venture into a new frontier and rather than just leisurely go fishing every now and then they decided to start an organization called Jaintia Fishing Association. The sole objective of the JFA then was to protect the aquatic lives in the river Myntdu. Perhaps it was what happened in East Jaintia Hills which had influenced the fishermen in Jowai to start JFA. And we can proudly say that the upstream of river Myntdu is in its current shape and form now because of the many interventions of the JFA.
Later the JFA decided to go one step further and remodeled and changed its name to Jaintia Fishing and Environment Society (JFES). This group of anglers in Jowai has been able to save the upstream of Myntdu from pollution when the Association with the help of the District Administration were able to stop mining and remove the stockpile of coal in the villages located along the catchment area of the Myntdu like Chyrmang, Їongnoh and Mustem. And this small intervention had prevented acid mine drainage into the river body and pollute the water.
Now JFES is the only organization which is working to protect the river and the environment in the entire Jaintia hills and the association is also single-handedly responsible for protecting the upstream of river Myntdu. JFES had been able to build two check dams on the river Myntdu to protect fish and conserve water and prevent pollution to the river. Recently JFES has indentified and selected Syntu Ksiar and Lynter as protected and also to declare the particular water bodies near Kiang Nangbah Memorial as fish sanctuaries. The project which is also financed by the Department of Fisheries Jaintia hills is planned to be another tourist attraction in the area. This is again a fit case of community taking upon themselves the role to conserve this historic part of Myntdu river.
Like minded people from different regions joined hands in the noble cause and JFES has now spread its wings to the other parts of Jaintia hills. The Organisation now has units in every nook and corner of Jaintia hills. All these units work to protect aquatic lives in their rivers and conserve the water bodies in their respective areas.
But the threat to the river Myntdu now is the coming up of buildings adjacent to the river on the upstream of the river near Їengkeiñ pamblah and Chah-tngit. If this trend continues, then in no time Myntdu will also go the Wah Umkhrah way where buildings will encroach right up to the body of the river. And we are yet to see JHADC coming up with regulations prohibiting construction near the rivers, so if we rely on the Council to come up with rules and regulations to protect the rivers, it is almost certain that it will not happen and very soon Myntdu will also become like Wah Umkhrah.
But JFES has a vital role to play and prevent that from happening, because if the Organization can single-handedly stop coal mining and coal depots from coming up on the catchment areas at Їongnoh, Chyrmang and Mustem, then I don’t see the reason why it cannot stop building constructions on the bank of the river. People can bring change only if they have good intentions and are united in their efforts, and the endeavor initiated by JFES is a classic case of a successful public-led conservation initiative where government agency’s involvement is minimal.
Nongbareh village is another conservation effort which was started by the Dorbar Shnong and this with a noble cause in mind which is to protect the rare Chocolate Mahseer fish in the river which is located right in the centre of the villages. Earlier this was for the residents to use the fish only for a special reason. A resident of the village can only fish in the river when someone in the family is not well and the fish caught can only be used to feed the patient. This practice continues till today and one can only fish from the river when a member in the family falls sick.
Another most interesting case of Community-led Eco Conservation is the effort made by the people of Shnongpdeng village to protect the portion of rivers Umngot which flows near the village. Shnongpdeng is located near the Indian border with Bangladesh and by the time Umngot river reaches the village it has become a big river (by our standards) and there are several ‘thwai’ basins in which are found large numbers of aquatic life. It all began when in the early part of 2013, the Dorbar Shnong unanimously decided to protect the river basin known as Masiah and declare it as a fish sanctuary. Coincidentally, just when the Dorbar decided to protect Masiah, the Jaintia Hills Autonomous District (JHADC) as usual floated a tender to lease the river to anyone interested in catching the fish from the river. The JHADC usually leases all rivers which fall under the Council’s jurisdiction on a yearly basis and the lessee would catch as much fish as he can to recover the investment made.
Naturally, because the community had already decided to protect the aquatic lives in the water and conserve the river basin, the village Dorbar decided to object to this annual leasing of their river. They met the officers of the JHADC in Jowai who are in charge of leasing the river to register their complaints against the lease. The officer cited rules and the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution and expressed regret and inability to redress their grievance and to cancel the tender. The leaders of the community were at their wits end. They did not know what to do; they wanted to protect their river and conserve the aquatic lives in the river but they were helpless.
They decided to meet the Deputy Commissioner Jaintia hills Autonomous District Council and share their predicament with him. The DC also expressed his helplessness because as per Sixth Schedule rivers are within the purview of the District Councils. Then suddenly one of the leaders of the Dorbar told the DC that the lessee would use any means to capture as much fish as he can to maximize profit. He also informed that they even use explosive to kill fishes. P.S. Dkhar realized the loophole where he could intervene and acted immediately. He promulgated section 144 CrPC on that particular section of the river Umngot because it is illegal to use explosives without license. And that was the beginning of the end of JHADC’s story of annual leasing of the portion of the river Umngot near Shnongpdeng.
These are few stories where communities, be it the Dorbar Shnong as in the case of Nongbareh and Shnongpdeng or a registered organization like the JFES which had played a vital role in leading the protection and conservation of the environment in the state. Real conservation can happen only when people take the lead. The Government Department can only play a supporting role in the efforts. Real change and sustainable conservation can only happen when people take ownership and lead environment conservation from the front.