Wildlife Week celebration rally in city
SHILLONG: As the wildlife wing of the Forests and Environment Department gears up for the rally titled ‘Walk for wildlife’ to be organised here on Friday as part of the Wildlife Week celebrations, a number of concerns continue to vex the department.
The department is confronted with problems in its bid to ameliorate the forest cover and sensitise people on the need to preserve and protect wildlife in the State.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) P.S. Nongbri said, “The threats to wildlife are numerous which include poaching for meat, elephants hunted for ivory, tigers killed for their skin, teeth and fur.
“Then there is the danger of destruction of habitat due to large scale felling of trees, mining activities outside national parks and sanctuaries which pollute water bodies and other environmental hazards that affect wildlife,” he added.
Another problem is migration of animals. Citing examples of elephants trespassing into human habitation causing destruction to human and animal life, he said, “Migration of animals leads to man-animal conflict. Wildlife habitats are further depleting and elephants are starting to spread out.”
Speaking about the endangered wildlife species, Nongbri said, “Tiger is difficult to spot in some places due to the loss of habitat as they are being killed. The Hoolock gibbon, which is an ape species found in Garo Hills, is endangered as these animals need trees for their survival.”
When asked about the sensitisation programmes to inform the people about the need to protect and preserve wildlife, he said, “Nowadays, people are more aware (about wildlife protection). There are community reserve forests that are owned by the people that are more or less similar to sanctuaries.”
On efforts to ameliorate the wildlife condition in the state, he said, “There is the Narpuh Wildlife Sanctuary which was upgraded to a wildlife sanctuary from a reserve forest in 2014. On the other hand, community reserve forests are increasing because people have become more aware.”
He informed that there are 41 community reserve forests in the state covering an area of 38.03 sq.km which protect the existing animals in the areas.
Nongbri, however, expressed concern over the fact that the depleting forest cover in the State has affected wildlife and said there is a total of 449 sq. km of very ‘dense forests’ and 9584 sq. km of ‘moderate dense forests’ in the state as per the Forests Survey of India, 2015 report.
Commenting on the bird population in the state, he said, “Bird shooting is illegal and it is on the wane as almost all people involved are arrested. Large scale felling of trees has affected the bird population in the state. We need more evergreen fruit trees.”
Stating that stringent laws are in place to protect the wildlife, Nongbri said, “There is the Wildlife Protection Act as well as the Wildlife Crime Control Unit which involves the police, customs, BSF and NGOs to monitor illegal activities.”
When asked about Meghalaya’s first theme zoo at Umtrew in Ri Bhoi, Nongbri said that the proposal for new approach road has been sent to the Central Zoo Authority for approval and added that it will not take long.