Guwahati, Sept 4: Village Defence Party (VDP) members of Assam’s Majuli river island district have been provided with essential field gear to augment surveillance for protection of straying wildlife, mainly one-horned rhino and elephants, as well as to deter wildlife crime in the region.
For the purpose an event was held on Tuesday at the office of the Superintendent of Police in Majuli, where 62 members from 40 Village Defence Parties (VDPs) of the river island district which is known for its rich cultural and natural biodiversity, gathered to receive essential field gear, including torch lights and umbrellas. The field gears were supported by Zoo Berlin, according to a Press release.
The programme was graced by P Bibekananda Das, Superintendent of Police (SP) and Bitul Chetia, Additional Superintendent of Police of the district. Both the officials expressed their gratitude to the region’s premier biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak (www.aaranyak.org) for the swift action taken to equip the VDP members for better fieldwork.
The VDP members also thanked Aaranyak and shared interesting experiences of incidents related to the straying of elephants and rhinos in Majuli.
From Aaranyak, Dr. Deba Kumar Dutta, Senior Managers Rhino Research and Conservation Division (RRCD) and Dr. Jimmy Borah, Senior Manager Legal and Advocacy (LAD) attended the event.
Dr Dutta spoke about ways for minimizing elephant and rhino conflicts by understanding animal behaviour and highlighted the importance of scientific data for effective management of such conflicts.
Dr Jimmy emphasized the need for accurate information sharing on wildlife cases to ensure appropriate actions are taken. All participants agreed on the importance of sharing accurate information through a common platform to improve response for action.
