Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Mizoram Report ~ Mizo ~ Kum 2008 -2009 chhunga hnathawhte

Very pleased & satisfied personally to meet (albeit somewhat late) the moral obligation of producing a detailed report of our efforts in Mizo. Requesting friends to come forth with their feedback that helps us to further improve. . . Thanks . . .
Kan chanchin.

Samrakshan Mizoram field base chhuan kan ram chhung kilber ramsa leh ramngaw tha tak tak a la awm na hmun Saiha ah hia humhalhna kawnga hnathawh in bul a lo tan ta ani. Hun tha leh hun remchante denchhanin sikul naupang te, thalaipawlte, khawtlan hruaitu village council members te leh forest department a thawktu te nen tan tualin humhalh hna hi thawh tan a ni. Humhalh hna kan thawk na a h hian hlawhtlina leh rah tha tak achhuah theihna turin mipuite hnam hlutsak chungin humhalhna programme hi buatsaih thin a ni.

Saiha district hi Mizoram chhim lama awm 1965.81 sq kms area a ni a, headquarters pawh hi altitude 1226 meters (Anonymous 2005) a ni. Tun hnai lawka wildlife survey atanga kan hmuh chhuah danin Kiasitlah ah hian ramsa 42 (Datta-Roy et al. 2007).

Pala Tipo tih hi Mara tawng a ni a, Palak Lake til hi hman lar ber a ni. Palak dil vel hi ram ngaw tha tak a la neih a, le ta hian farte, le cane – brakes te pawh hmu tur tam tak a la awm a ni. Tin 9 amphibian leh 21 reptiles pawh survey na a tangin hmuh chhuah a ni (Pawar and Birand 2001). Palak dil hi Sava chenna pawimawh tak a ni bawk a ni ~ Important Bird Area (IBA)
Zirna humhalh

Kawng hrang hrang zirna a tan hma lakna hi nungchate humhalhna kawngah hmanraw tangkai tak a ni. Zirna ti hlu tu atan leh ti ngaihnawm a ti tangkai turin thuawihnate tanrualna te hi leh pawimawh tak a ni. (Trivedi et at. 2006) He thil kan humhalhna kawnga a zirtirna te avang hian a hnuai a Sessions-ah te hian Programme buatsaiha a lo ni tawh a ni.

# Naupang School kal lai mekte tan ( a hmasa ber in Class 5, 6. and 7 )
# Tual chhung zirna In leh Members te ( Tualchhunga Associations, Village Council members)

Khawvel pumpuia Environment Education chuan hriatna/fina leh thiamna tihzau leh hriattir hi he mi kawnga humhalhna pawimawh ber leh tangkai ber niin a sawi a, zirchian leh thlir nawn na-ah pawh hmasawn ber niin a lo pawm hial a ni (M L Ampofo–Anti) Chuvang chuan a chunga kan han tarlan te hi a hlawhtling takzet a ni. kan thil tihna a tel ve tawhte biakna ah chuan He tiang kawnga humhalna kawngah pawh a ti hlawhtling tu ber an nizel a ni.

Samrakshan chuan Saiha bialah hian zirna kawng a nungchate humhalhna hi hmanraw pawimawh tak a ni tih hriain, Sikul hrang hrang te nen an thawk ho a, chu chu hemi kawnga hman raw pawimawh tak a ni. ( Poster leh Book) Pathian thilsiam humhalhna bultantu leh Film chhuah ‘ Point Calimere - Little kingdom by the Coast” By Sekhar Dattari.

Mizorama nungchate hlutna chu a humhalhna hmun Protected Area (PA) leh Sava awmna hmun pawimah Important Bird Area (IBA) te sawi hovin introduction ( inhmelhriattirna ) chu tan a lo ni ta a ni. Ti chuan Data hmangin Protected Areas (PA) leh Important Birds Areas (IBA) te chu Data a a tihlan danin Wildlife Institute of India leh Bombay Natural History Society atangin State Bird leh State Animal chu sawi hona neih a ni ta a ni.

Samrakshan saiha bial chuan Saiha bial a ramsa leh nungchate hlutna chu zawngin a chhut a, “ Nagarahole- tales from an Indian Jungle: Film chhuahin bul a tan ta a ni.

Zawng chung chang sawi hona :- Zoo enkawltute pawl ( Zoo Outreach Organization) te siam chhuah, Zawng lem rawng hnawih tur leh a lem book te atanga tanpuina.

Hauhuk ( Hoolock gibbon ) Survey chhunga mi : A zawn chhuahna a thiltih, Hei hi a hlutna zawn chhuahna atana hman a ni a, chu chu zawhna ( Question 10 leh chhanna a lem nen a ni) Sikul naupangte zawh/ tihtir a ni.

Heng Sessions atan hian hmanraw chi hrang hrang hman a ni a, chungte chu :

# Film chhuah ( Film screening )
# A lem rawng hnawih (Colouring and sketching )
# Ngaihdan sawi hona ( Interactive discussion sessions)
# Thil tih te entirna ( Power point presentation )

Heng te bakah hian hun remchanna apiangah nungcha te humhalh na kawnga sawihona leh inbiakna kan neive thin a ni. Chungte chu:
# Annual functions of youth associations.Mara thyutliapy (MTP) te.
# Motivation campaigns of students. Mara Student Organisation (MSO)
# Teachers Trainning Organised by District institute Of Education & Trainning (DIET) te.
# Science exhibition Organised by State Council of Educational Research and Trainnning ( SCERT ) an ni.

Nungchate humhalhna kawng a inbiakna chuan nungchate chenchilh a inbiakna hi Class Room ah leh in pindana inbiakna aiin awmzia anei zawk hle a ni. Hemi in a huamte chu sava te leh ransa te hi an hming ziak ai chuan a enkawlna leh an chanchin te tui tak leh fimkhur takin sawi ho ila, a tha a hle a ni. Tichuan, kan humhalhna kawnga a zirna chuan, dik taka suangtuah thiamna te,kan thil tih nen a a in zawm avangin, Saiha pawh hun thar lo la awm tur te ina Pathian thilsiam atanga inla hrang lovin khawpui mite nen pawh an in tluk tlang vek tur a ni.
Nungchate chhinchhiah a dah

‘ Sava saw en teh’ ? Ka pa chuan a ti a
‘ Saw saw Spencer’s Warbler a ni ( A hming tak tak a hre lo tih ka hria e.)
Italy tawngin a tha e a ti a, saw saw Chutto Lapittida a ni. Portugal tawngin,
saw saw Bonda Peida a ni. China tawngin, saw saw, Chung - Iong - tah a ni.
Tin, Japan tawngin, saw saw, Katano takeda tih a ni ve thung.

Heng sava hming hi khawvel tawng chi hrang hrangin i hre thei mai thei e. Mahse, i tawp hun chuan eng sava pawh an chanchin i hre tawh hauh lovang. hmun hrang hranga mihring cheng te chauh hi i hre tawh anga, Ti chuan sava an sawi leh koh chauh i hre tawh ang. Chuvang chuan sava te hian engnge an tih en la, chu thil chu kan zir tur leh chhiar tur a ni zawk dawn a ni. Rechard Feynman, a leh a pa in- a sava an zirchianna/ an en-na chanchin a ziak a ni.

Keini pawh Ramsa leh sava kan hmuh apiang, record in kan chhinchhiah reng a, Tin, Phengphehlep leh tun hnai lawk a kan rul hmuh te pawh kan chhinchhiah thlap a ni. Hemi chhung hian thildang kan hmuh te pawh la chhinchhiah zel kan tum a ni. Tin, Nungcha chi hrang hrang kan hmuh tawh leh kan tawn tawh lehkha khawl chhut thlapin kan chhinchhiah tan tawh a ni. hei hi nitin an chanchin chhinchhiahna bu kan tih a chanchin sawi na a ni. Kan zinga mipa khat phei chu kut ngeia ziak hian a lo hmangaih theih zawk a ni a tia. A hnuaia kan tarlan hi ama ziak chhuah ngei chu a ni.

Thingpui in zawh a khuma kala mutzal lai chuan, ka thil tih tui ber zinga len chhuah chu ka tum ta a, Aug, 14th 2008 Tuipang a ka awmlai ani nghe nghe, ni khua lah chu achhe em em a, ruahsur nasa bawk nen. Circuit house (22. 31028, 93. 02599 ) atanga tuikhur ka va thlen chuan kal kawng pahnih alo awm a, a khawi zawk hi nge ka zawh ang tiin ka in ngaihtuah a, pa pakhat thaw mhnaw su mek chuan, “ Ka pu; khawiah nge kal i tum,” tiin min zawt a tichuan ka raw n leng deuh mai mai, sava te ka hmuh chuan thla te lak ka tum a, ni hnih thum vel chu ka la cham ang tiin ka chhanga. Tichuan kawng hnuai zawk chu ka zawh ta a, hemi kawng hi thla hmasa a ka thianpa Manuna nena kan lo kal tawhna hmun, lo atana an halna hmun vel kha ani bawk a, ka hrechiang hle bawk nen ka va kal zel a tah chuan tahchuan lo hlui chhung ah hian sava enge maw zat an lo awm a, an thlawh ran deuh avangin ka en chiang hman ta lova, ka thiamna in a tlin lo bawk nen, engtik ah emaw chuan thiamna hun kim chang ka la nei ang tiin ka inngaihtuah ta a ni.

Tuikhur a ka lo let leh chuan kawng dang ka zawh leh ta a, tin rei vaklo ka kal lai chuan sava pahnih hi ka veilam thei huan ah chuan ka zuk hmu ta a, thing kung leh a sava hre chiang turin ka Camera leh, Binocular ( Enlenna ) chu ka phawrh chhuak a, minute hnih vel ka thlir hnu chuan Fantails an ni tih ka hre ta a. Tichuan ka thawhpui Wildlife Biologist ni bawk Anirban nen a kum 2007 December thla a Agra a (Madhya Pradesh) a kan lenlai te kha ka hrechuak ta a. ( Vawiin chu eng Fantails nge a nih tih ka ngaihtuah chuanglo)

Tichuan thingzar vela a thlawk lai ka hmuh chuan ka field guide ka zawng chhuak nghal a. Tin, vawi lehkhat ah pakhat hi kawngah a rawn thlawk chhuak a thingbuk feet 12-15 vel a sangah chuan a fu ta a. Kei nen chuan lei atanga ft 2-4 vel chauh a inhlat kan ni.Tichuan ka entlangna (binocular) chuan ka en chiang nghal a. Chu sava chu White-browed Fantail Flycatcher (Rhipidura auresia) a lo ni reng mai a. A mithmul var te pawh a lang chiang khawp mai. Salim Ali’s Book of Indian birds in an awmna a sawi dan chuan,” India ram pum ah leh chhim lam Myanmar, Pakistan, Bangladesh leh Srilanka ah te a ti a ni.”

Ka tan chuan Saiha bial a ka sava hmuh hi min zahna hmasa ber ani awm e. Heng lai velah hian avang emaw vanglo emaw, min tih lawmna ber pakhat chu kan school ka kal lai a alem kan ziak te pawh kha a lo awm nual mai. Tin, thing buk vela reilo te lo hram a thlawk leh mai thin te pawh ka hmu nual bawk. Sava en leh an chanchin zir hi ka tuina ber ala ni zel.(Ka thiamna nen chuan a inmil vak rihlo)

Hmanlai a thil awm atanga hriattirna

George Santayana chuan “ tupawh hmanlai thil awm tawh atanga hriatna aneih vawng thiamlo chu thi nawn mawlh rawhse.”

Hmanlai a thil awm tawh hriattirna atangin nungcha te leh ramngaw chanchinte pawh kan dawng reng a ni, lehkhabu hrang hrang in min kawhhmuh ang zelin hmun hran hran a mi a theih ang angin type chuah ani thin a, hemi atang hian Saiha biala nungchate humhalh na kawng tan kan hma lakna leh kan in fuihna te pawh nasa takin tunah chuan hma kan sawn chho zel a ni. Tin, hriatna tamtak kan dawng bawk a hei hian kan hma lam a nungchate humhalhna kawng ah hma min sawntir thei dawn bawk a ni.Lehkhabu kan chiar thenkhat phei chu British officer leh ziakmi ropui tak tak te an ni hlawm a ni.Heng ho hian ziak dan tha tak tak te min kawhhmuh a. Hmalak dan tur tha zawk min kawhhmuh bawk a ni.

Hlawhtlinna thiamna leh hlawhchhamna

Hun te a inthlak zel angin zirlai ten lei an rochun a khawvel nei thei khawpin mithiam ten mawi takin thiamna in an inthuam a. - Al Rodgers.

Nungchate humhalhna kawnga thiamna leh finna kawngah Saiha ah pawh hma kan sawnin kan thang chho zel a, tin programme kan neihna ah te pawh kan hlawhtling hle zel a ni. Tin, hetih lai hian nungchate humhalhna kaw nga kan in zirtirna a hmanraw pawimawh leh awmchhun chu thingtlang naupang te leh puitling te ti ila kan sawisual lovang. Kan programme ah pawh heng mite hi kan thawhpui pawimawh tak awmchhunte an ni. Chuvangin kan harsatna tihreh ai chuan kan thiamna/hriatna tihpun hi heng mite zahawmna hi a ni.

# Nature ( hriat leh hriattirna )
# In biakpawhna ( Communication )

Nungchate humhalhna kawnga zirtirna hna kan thawhna ah hian kan thiamna leh finna te kan hmang ho tur a ni a tin nungchate humhalhna hna kan thawhna ah hian hmanraw chihrang hrang hmangin audience te hnenah kan hriattir nawn zel tur a ni. Tin kan in biakdan tur te pawh a hma in lo inpuahchah hmasak lawk tur a ni. Tin, ngaihtuahna tha tak tak neiin kan inbiakna te hnenah pawh an duh zawng leh an tui zawng te tanchhan in hriatna leh zirtirna kan pek ngun hi a pawimawh hle.

Kan thil thlir leh hmuh te pawh kan chhinchhiah nghal zel tur a ni a, hei hian kan thil hmuh leh tawn te pawh a tizangkhai thei a ni. Tichuan, thil awmdan zir chiangin, lo inher danglam thei a nih avangin atha zawng a thil kan kalpui a tul takzet a ni. Kan zirchianna thenkhat te chu a hnuaiah hian tarlan a ni. An dinhmun leh an in hlat zawng thuhmun a kaltir.

Sikul naupang te nena kan inbiak emaw kan inzirtir emaw ai chuan nungchate chanchin sawi a kan tehkhin fo thin te hi a tangkai zawk a ni. Saza ( Serow Naemorhedus Sumatraensis ) Chanchin kan sawi hian State Animal ani a, a beng te pawh sabengtung nen a inang a, mahse a taksa pianphung erawh chu kel ( Goat ) aiin a lian zawk a ni tih hriattir theih nise.

Phura ah chuan thalai pawl te nen ‘ Mizoram a ramsa chanchin te kan sawi ho fo thin a National park te, Wildlife sanctuaries te, Important bird areas te, state bird leh state animal te pawh kan sawiho thin a heng hian hriatzauna asiam bak ah heng nungcha te hi ramsa dang aiin an pawimawh zawk a ni tih hriatna lam ah hma an sawn phah hle a ni. Political hruaitu te midang aia an pawimawh zawk ang hian heng ramsa te pawh hi ramsa dang aiin an pawimawh zawk a ni.

Tin, entawn tur kan tarlan fo thin te pawh hi atangkai hle a, Thalai pawl te nen a kan inbiakna te, National Park leh Wildlife Sanctuary te leh ram zau tak tak ramsa awmna in atan emaw khua atan a kan han sawi tak te hi pawimawh em em lo mahse tangkaina chen anei ani tih hria in, thlalak hmangin unau pasarih te entawn tur atan kan pe a, tin heng bakah hian programme kan neihna a lo tel ho te tan kan pe bawk a entawn tur tha tak a ni. Tunhnai lawka ramsa awm an humhalh na hmun Nokrek National Park ( West Garo Hills - Meghalaya te leh Pitcher Plant Sanctuary (South Garo Hills Meghalaya ) Km 1 Sq. aia telo alo awmchhan te pawh sawiho a tarlan a ni ( Pitcher Plant ).

Hmasawnna kawnga ke pen dan

Thla hmasa lawk khan kan thil tih hrang hrang leh kan hmanraw hman chi hrang hrang te chu sikul naupangte nen kan en chhhin a, kan hlawkpui hle a ni. Tin, hetih lai hian thingtlang khua hla taka awm sikul naupang te leh District Headquarters Don Bosco School naupangte ho nen chuan an in ang lo hle a ni. chu chu Palak Dil sava awmna hmun leh Folklores te in ang lo ang hian a ni. Phura bul Kaisih a naupang hote nen kan sawi hona ah pawh “ Saiha Ramsa chanchin minute 15 vel kan sawi ho lai chuan, Naupang 14 zinga pakhat 1 chuan a thil hriat loh leh tui loh zawng anih avangin a tui lo hle tih kan hriatin, chumi anih avang chuan chawlh kan nei ta tir a ni. Sikul naupan haw hnu pawh chuan an khaw chhunga mi thenkhat hnenah chuan hengte hi engtia hriatna nei nge an nih enfiah nan kan thil tum chu pakhat theuhin kan sawipui ta hlawm a.

Hetiang ang deuh hian Saiha Don Bosco Sikul ah chuan Programme kan neih pui a, Hauhuk ( Hoolock Gibbon ) chan chin te leh kan hriatdan te kan sawi ho a, Tin heng bakah hian Ramsa chihrang hrang hming an hriat ang angte Black board ah ziakin, Mizo leh English te in ziah tir an ni.

Nuam leh tuina zawng

Kan thil tihna kawng engkim ah theihtawp kan chhuah chuan a nawmna leh tuina zawng zawng kan hre thei thin a ni. Kan programme a lo telve sikul naupang ho nuam tih zawng leh tuina zawng chu kan tihpui ta thin a ni, kan thawhpui te pawh an nih ka ring. Film te entirin lehkhabu te pawh kan entira, heng te hian an inpumkhat ani tih kan hriatin, hetianga hmalak hi chhunzawm nise tha kan ti hle a ni. Tin, heng te hian kan hnathawhna ah hlawhtlinna a thlentir mai bakah beiseina min siam tu anih kan ring tlat a ni.

Phura kan kal apiangin Palak Dil kan tlawh ziah thin a, chutiang bawkin Tuipang kan kal chuan an lo te kan tlawh thin a ni. Hetianga kan chhuah hian ramsa leh sava kan hmuh reng reng chu lehkhabu hmangin hriat chian kan tum a, kan chhinchhiah ta thin a ni, chutiangin Tuipang a kan hmuh, kan hriatchian theihloh chu, Phura kan kal lehin chiang zawkin kan chhinchhiah leh thlap a ni. Phura ah chuan Hoary ballied Himalayan Sguirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) ten pangpara tui an tlan lai te pawh kan hmu bawk a ni. Hengte hi kan tan thilthar vek a ni a, hmuh an nuam hle.

Inbiakpawhna

Kan inbiakpawhna a, kan thil ti vel te chu kan la chhawng reng a, heng thil te hi kan tumdan pawh a ni. Film kan chhuahsak a, ‘Rul’ awmna film a ni, naupang te chuan an en renga, he tihlai hian an tui leh tuilo te pawh kan chik reng a, kan hrethei ta thin a ni. Chumi hnu chuan engvangin nge Chung - u ( Frog ) rul (Snake) leh laiking (Lizards) angte hi kanlo hmanchhuah loh tiin kan in ngaihtuah ta a, Heng avang hian kan thiltihna leh kan inbiakpawhna ah hlawhtlinna kan hriat theih phah a ni.




Kan report pek te pawh chu Nungchate hlutna (Wild life values) te ramsa leh sava te chu thian nihna ah min thlenthlak ta a ni. Tin, kan inbiakna reng rengah hian zawldawh leh zaidam takin inbiakna hi kan zah tur a ni tih hriat tur a ni.

Kan hnathawhna sawihona leh sem darh zauna.

Hemi hun chhungah hian pawl leh sorkar te nen tum bik nei a inzawmkhawm kan ni a, Kan hmalamah, nungchate humhalhna tura zirtirna kawnga tan kan laka hma kan sawn zawk theihna tur leh Mizorama kan thil tihte, kan thil tawn te leh kan hnathawhte fel fai taka chhinchhiah a report pek thin a ni. He thil hi kan thawpui pawl leh sawrkar te pawhin min tawiawm tha hle bawk a. Sawrkar Officer pakhat Aizawla insawn tawh pawhin kan inbiakna leh Kalyan Varma - in film a siam kan en kha tun thlenga a theihnghilh theih loh thu min la hrilh reng thin a ni.

Tin, Nungchate humhalhna hna kan thawhna kawngah hian tawiawmtu leh tanpuitu Mizoram chhung atang chauh pawh ni lovin, Mizoram pawn lam atangte pawhin Website leh Blogs hmang te pawhin kan in be pawp reng bawk a ni. Nungchate humhalhna kawngah hian hriattirna tha zawk leh zau zawk hmang turin duhsakna leh fuihna kan dawng nasa hle a ni.

Tunah hian Anetwork of Conservation Educators by Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) te nen kan thawk ho bawk a, ram pum huapa con servation Educators ten meeting an buatsaih ah te hian kan tel ve thin a ni. Tin kan hnathawhna tinrengah anni nen hian theihtawp chhuah kan tum bawk.

Saiha mipuite hnena kan hnathawh dan chungchang leh kan thil tawn leh hriatte leh kan ngaihdan kan puanchhuahna kawngah Evangelical Church Of Maraland (ECM) te nena kan thawk ho thei hi lawmawm kan ti tak zet a, hetianga kan tihna chhan pawh hi Nungcha humhalhna kawnga mipuite fuih leh zirtir an ngaih avangte, inzirtirna an tlakchham em a vang te pawh a ni. Tin, Epatha chanchinbu hmangin kan thil tum leh hnathawh te puandarh ani bawk. Epatha hi kartin chanchinbu (News Letter ) New saiha ECM Local Church KTP ten an buatsaih a ni.

A hnuaiah hian kan hun neih tawhna leh chanchin puanzarna kan neih tawhte tarlan ani :-

# 6th April 09, Ramngaw humhalh
# 4th May 08, Luia sangha man lo tura hriattirna.
# 15th June 08, Green Mizoram day
# 29th June 08, Humhalhna kawnga hmalakna.
# 6th July 08, Environment News.

Partners.
Countless people (many of whom we are shameful enough to forget names of) who have welcomed us and shared their houses for our visits (including announced night halts), vast knowledge of landscape, loving cups of tea with fresh puris and warmth that has enabled us to perform as we have.

Our primary partners in efforts here have been friends at forest department of Mara Autonomous District Council. Without their cooperation working as we are would have been unthinkable. Special thanks are due to Pu Thaly.

Principals, teachers and students of schools that we have had programmes at we are indebted for their faith and trust in us for what was a first activity dedicated towards conservation education in most schools. Kashmira Kakati, Aparajita Datta, Will Duckworth, Kishen Das, Janaki Lenin, Nandini Rajamani and Firoz Ahmed have made life easier at Saiha by helping with identification of pictures of alive, freshly dead and museum specimens as also sharing of documents at short notice. This despite their frequent requests for our clicking better pictures! Pranav Trivedi, Seema Bhatt and Sujatha Padmanabham we are thankful for interactions that helped us tune our efforts. We thank ATREE and Sunita Rao for enabling us to be a part of the Conservation Education network. Meeta Goswami and WWF India we thank for posters on wildlife. Sally Walker and Marimuthu Rengaswamy at Zoo Outreach Organization have been consistently with us handholding and encouraging since inception of our field base. Kalyan Varma is acknowledged for sharing his film.


Arpan Sharma, Pankaj Sekhsaria, Yash Shethia and Chinmay Oza we thank for inputs in editing our thoughts (structured, unstructured, nascent and developed), texts and photographs over short emails, phone calls at uncanny hours and short bursts on google chat.


We are obliged to Khrizypa Thytlia Py (KTP), Evangelical Church of Maraland (ECM), Mara Thyultia Py (MTP), Mara Students Organization (MSO) and District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) for allowing us space to express our thoughts.

During the period under purview the unit has been supported by funds from Rufford Small Grants. We are grateful to them for their financial support and to our referees who stood by us at inception of this novel programme Anawaruddin Choudhury, Meenaxi Nagendran and Asad Rahmani.

References.

Anonymous (2005) Statistical Handbook, Saiha District. Department of Economics and Statistics, Saiha, Mizoram.

BirdLife International 2008 BirdLife's online World Bird Database: the site for bird conservation. Version 2.1. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. Available: http://www.birdlife.org/ (accessed 4th September 2008).

Datta-Roy, A., Sharma, A. & Azyu, T. T. 2007. Kaiseitlah Conservation Area: survey for wildlife values. Final Report. Samrakshan Trust and E & F Dept, MADC. Available http://www.samrakshan.org/ (accessed 26 July 2008).


N. L. AMPOFO-ANTI (2007) Highlighting the gap between Critical Outcomes requirements and built Environment Education in South Africa.

Pawar, S. and Birand, A. (2001) A survey of amphibians, reptiles, and birds in Northeast
Trivedi, P., Bhatnagar, Y.V., and Mishra, C. 2006. Living with snow leopards: a conservation
education strategy for the Himalayan high altitudes. CERC Technical Report No. 12.

Contact Details.

John Teikhaw (also thanking him for translation.......)
Samrakshan Trust
House 153,
New Saiha West, Saiha
Mizoram 796901
Phone: 94363 92486.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Looking afresh at Conservation Education.

Background and beginning.

We had organized a workshop at Baghmara (South Garo Hills, Meghalaya) during August 2009 to build up on our Conservation Education efforts. Participants hailed from Samrakshan’s Meghalaya and Mizoram field bases, colleagues from villages collating vital information in our elephant monitoring programme and members of non government organizations partnering us towards conserving wildlife in South Garo Hills. Most of them elemental to Meghalaya field base’s Conservation Education programme. Idea was to rekindle minds on conservation education. Towards this we
  • Shared of learnings at Mizoram field base and endeavours by other organizations.
  • Engaged in actions that could be put to use.
  • Looked at our actions and put forth questions on our action and approach that would help team design a programme they would espouse.
Venue
We began with who we were and what we liked. This was pertinent since not only did the entire group not congregate frequently by also both of us from Mizoram, John and I, would benefit from knowing of our Meghalaya counterparts. Each of us shared his (all of us males!!) name and what he adored in his organizational role. Basabjit talked of his liking to “handle animals” while Rollingstone stated his being pleased to put efforts towards creation of Community Conserved Reserves.
We moved on to discuss the workshop schedule including lunch and breaks. When menu was described the discussion veered on to Values that we had agreed to. We focussed on Equity (All humans and animals have an inherent right to live with dignity). Opinions were sought on interpretation of this particular value from participants and I was a trifle surprised by a couple of them! We also put up documents depicting values, vision and mission statement at the workshop venue (Baghmara Circuit House).
Each of us then shared of an event he had been a part of since April 2009, training or a workshop; that was when some of us had last shared common physical space. Participants enthusiastically talked of their ventures. Bensen shared of his having attended training on Conservation Leadership at Rajasthan co-organized by Prakritik Society and Tiger Watch while Yaranjit mentioned his attending a workshop on Community Conserved Areas co-organized by Kalpavriksh and Winrock. Other participants too joined the fray and experiences of recent action undertaken for Conservation Education also merited space. Conservation education, as was brought out, was integral to the wide range of programmes we undertook towards wildlife conservation. Participants were asked to contemplate if
  • Sharing of experiences, within office and beyond, would tantamount to conservation education and whether would it make sense?
  • We needed to simplify our communications and share them in a piecemeal fashion?


Participants in action
After this when participants stated their expectations Gole talked of people people shouting at him in villages during his visits for wild species rescue (from captivity) and how he could avoid such situations, Kendish said he wanted to know how better he could talk (on wildlife protection issues) with brethren in villages while Ginseng said that though he was conscious of his efforts spawning limited success he was unable to identify the gaps; he wanted to identify and work on them.

Actions.

We began with a film screening. We saw Sekhar Dattatri’s Point Calimere – Little Kingdom by the coast. At Mizoram we had had few screenings in office and with partners; it was however fresh for Meghalaya colleagues. In course of the screening we built in halts at strategic points and put to appropriate use the field guides. Species like Jackal (Canis aureus) and Black Buck (Antilope cervicapra) were discussed (their local names and presence in Saiha and Garo Hills landscapes) while the carnivores plant was compared to Pitcher plant (Nepenthes khasiana) by virtue of both being carnivorous plants. We discussed analogies use in the film like “match-box size” for the beach crab (and their impact) as also terms like RAMSAR, Important Bird Areas and Wildlife Sanctuary mentioned in the film for describing the location.
When we had an open session to discuss the screening and all of us were vocal here. Ginseng said it was interesting to learn of different approaches to same programme while Yaranjit talked of intensity in action. Participants were asked to ponder on whether
  • Augmenting awareness, on these and alike aspects, both for self and partners would be of help?
  • Road kill depicted in the film could be taken as a point to deliberate on the problem in Garo Hills and whether mining (a threat to wildlife in Garo Hills) could be discussed bolstered by salt production, threat to Point Calimere!
  • It made more sense to have limited number of screenings but in a fashion separate from what they had recently done. We applied ourselves on a couple of fun activities.
Forming a circle we stood outside the Circuit House and each of us imitated sound of a wild species that he was familiar to and rest of participants had to identify the same. Initially the participants were slow but as one by one we started making sounds we all had more than few laughs. The list Fernando collated was invigorating! 14 species we had around and the list included Hill Myna (Gragula religiosa), Flying Squirrel (Petaurista petaurista), Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) and Hoolock Gibbon (Hoolock hoolock). We discussed how lucky we were to be in such a location and that we had to discontinue cutting trees and hunting wildlife to be able to hear these around us.

We then saw a presentation on birds, having bird pictures accompanied by their calls. The slides advanced and so did interest levels of participants. When the slides started repeating we shut the volume off and heard the participants! They talked of Garo names of birds, where in and around Baghmara they occurred and whether they were kept as pets! We discussed how different birds stayed in different kinds of habitats (in forests, around human beings, near water bodies) and how some of them were seen more as individuals and others in larger groups (like some of us!) and that some of them were not resident but migratory i.e. they did not stay with us across the year but came during specific periods.
During this participants were handed over field guides and Bensen shared points they could keep in mind while putting them to appropriate use.
Conservation education at Meghalaya field base has adults as partners specially when discussing potential threats to wildlife rich Garo Hills. We had 2 activities for this; debate and discussion. Topics we chose were such that would help clarify participants’ views on other activities under conservation education domain.
Debate was on whether Posters are useful in conservation education and after participants had taken 3 separate stands initially; yes – no – don’t know; they clarified their understanding of the topic and reason behind adopting the stance. Participants then attempted convincing those in other sub-groups to agree to their points of view and move over to their sub-group! It was interesting to see participants, otherwise silent, animatedly put across their point of views! They talked of
  • Posters being ineffective in isolation.
  • Posters being effective when focus was on a specific issue.
  • Posters requiring lot of planning.
  • It being difficult to understand if posters made a difference.
We saw stands being changed and participants arguing aggressively in this activity that rather than just put across a message helps elucidate dissimilar points of view. Participants are taken to be aware of the issue and the idea is to make them think and explore possibilities. This had a time limit to it and we discussed the process at the end as also issues that we could deliberate on with partners. Since interest and energy levels were high, Kamal began another round of debate. This time focus was on mining in Garo Hills.


Debate
When we discussed the action it was invigorating to see how a debate had been generated between those contending that large topics were suitable for the activity and others. While Kamal was of the view that debates would have to be on larger topics for partners would find them simpler to converse on while Vikash mentioned that since we talked of sensitive issues we should have topics that bring out the larger or core issues from their end i.e. partners themselves. To enrich the session to clarify this we put together 3 possible points for debate on a single issue.
  • Should we have wild species as pets?
  • Do wild species kept as pets survive for long?
  • Do wild species kept as pets get adequate nutrition?
Most of us agreed however that debate would hinge on comprehending level of our partners and interest level of the facilitator and that it need not necessarily be in isolation, it could even be organized on a topic like hunting arising from a film.
Discussion was on whether we should organize events like environment day and wildlife week. Participants expressed their views in the language they were familiar with, made comments on views of co participants, sequencing was absent so was a stipulation on contributing more than once. One of the participants, Basabjit made and shared a synopsis at the end. It went thus
  • Events help us work with partners other than those with whom we work on a regular basis.
  • Events have little impact.
  • Events are essential in order to involve people other than those at Samrakshan.
  • Events are more of a celebration and not a regular programme, meaning they should be looked as such.
  • During events participants listen but do not understand.
  • Events are not good for common people.
It was also agreed to by most that discussions need to be designed thoroughly and can help us get a sense on a particular issue.
This session underscored a crucial issue pertinent to planning and implementation of these efforts. Our approach in conservation education with partners. Are we discussing issues, giving partner’s space to voice their opinions while sharing our position thus enabling an environment for them to comprehend a position separate from theirs and accept it? Or are we simply putting across our points of views and asking them to accept them?


The debate had majority of us believing in posters and we got on to working in sub-groups on posters. Two sub-groups each worked on land use planning and wild species in captivity, two issues work in Meghalaya field base focussed on and came up with compelling posters. After these were presented we considered issues we had to bear in mind for posters
Posters
  • For whom?
  • From what distance will they be seen?
  • What language will they be in?
  • What will be the size?
  • What material will be used to make them?
  • Where will these be put up?
  • Will we use pictures or maps or diagrams?
  • How will we decide the content?
  • Who will be our collaborators?
Sharing.
We had a session where we shared of our learnings at Mizoram field base. We talked of how the programme at Mizoram had progressed i.e. the manner in which we have reached the current stage in Mizoram. We also shared a power point presentation focussing on “Mizoram Wildlife”, drawing parallels with Meghalaya, and described the experience of putting it across with groups, specially personnel from non government organisations and forest department.


Activities undertaken by other organizations like NCF and ATREE, that I had got aware to during the meeting on Conservation Education previous year were also shared. We deliberated on our sharing information collected by way of surveys and also trips to forested patches in form of nature walks and nature camps. During the discussion Bensen said we could share species sightings list with colleagues while Basabjit said we could use power point presentations effectively with select groups.


An essential point that emerged from the conversation was usage of words and participants were asked to consider if
  • Language made a difference!
  • Would it help if we used “activity” in lieu of “tools” and “partner” instead of “target audience”? Would we perceive the very issues in a different fashion if we were sensitive to these communication issues?
We screened the BVIEER film that depicted their efforts under the ICEF (Indo Canadian Environment Facility) project at 3 sites in northern part of our country. Post the screening we got into 3 sub groups and each of us was to talk on separate aspects of the film.
  • What was depicted in the film?
  • Which species were seen in the film?
  • What we learnt from film in context of our efforts?
Open discussion on the film had participants talking of involving more segments of society as partners and also more involvement with other local non government organizations in organizing conservation education programmes. Participants saw the manner in which organizations other than Samrakshan too undertook conservation education programmes in separate parts of our country with varying partners. Participants suggested generating synergies with GSU (Garo Students Union) for the purpose and they were asked if it would help to have them involved from the planning stage itself.
As the workshop approached culmination Kamal and I looked at the Baghmara Reserve Forest in silence and wondered if we were doing enough ....we then brought it to an end asking participants if we could take some time out in our day to day lives for see, feel and love nature around us .....

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Guwahati to Garo Hills....

I was visiting Baghmara, where I learnt of wildlife and conservation, after 2 years and we had begun the road journey cutting across the friendly and beckoning Assam landscape. While the road to our destination did not make it mandatory to cross the bridge over Brahmaputra I had the urge to pay respects to one of the more magnificent avataars of nature I have been fortunate to feel. Yes, one just does not see it, one feels it, more so during these monsoon months when clouds take its colour as they melt into it.


As we moved we passed the Deepor Beel. We parked our vehicle to marvel at its splendour; sheer green brought about by recent rains, reflection of the afternoon sky and the gentle hills at a distance. We spotted a ‘big dark water bird’ on a lonely tree not very far from the road. It was the Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) blissfully basking in the monsoon sunshine; opening its wings every few minutes. It was there for atleast 20 minutes that we saw it, at times noticing us and moving its slim neck that otherwise was positioned almost in shape of “C”. Few minutes down it was joined by a cormorant. A brief session of hurried exchanges within colleagues of binoculars and field guides led us to believe it to be the Little Cormorant (Phalacrocorax niger). This led to another round of exchanges and left me wondering whether these unplanned encounters with wildlife were a better stimulant for enthusing colleagues on nature conservation vis- a- vis a planned classroom session.

As the vehicle restarted I realized all of us were more alive to the landscape. I recalled Anirban pointing out the Darter at WII campus during December 2007 and sharing of it being rare at Palak Lake and the confusion we (Arpan and I) had over the bird at a small pool in the drizzling Orang National Park earlier during the very year. Driving on I imagined seeing elephants waddling in Deepor Beel and also remembered seeing an amazing picture by Christy.

Memories and car moved and by the time we crossed into Meghalaya it was dark. Vikash then noticed a road-kill; a Small Indian Civet (Viverricula indica). It appeared to have been run over not more than few hours before and as I made adjustments to the camera I wished it was as lucky as the one that escaped our Sumo at Lawngtlai (Mizoram) during the previous year. Road kills are a bane; more so in these wildlife rich landscapes and as I write I realize I possess no knowledge of the damage caused to smaller taxa.


The drive continued and we finally reached Baghmara.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Of sparrows and babblers .....

The building that accommodates our office is caressed by open space (read the endearing Mizoram green). Chirping of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) enlivens this space. Small groups are conspicuous by their calls and at times a frolicsome group may also be seen on the adjacent mobile tower! Anwaruddin Choudhury in Pocket Guide to Birds of Mizoram states “the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) is very rare in Mizoram where Eurasian Tree Sparrow is the common sparrow in most places".

I had heard a call that was louder than and distinctly different from that of this sparrow while in our office and had continued with urgent tasks leaving aside the more important one. This happened more than once and finally on a drizzling – cloudy Saiha morning, it was 11.00 am, I was sensible enough to close the laptop on hearing the call. I saw a bird smaller than the sparrow perched on a cable about 5 feet from ground on 7th August (2009). I was also able to take a picture but not before it had forced a session of hide and seek on me by cavorting amidst bushes and shrubs. By the time I finally got the picture it was calling (presumably its partner) and I was aware to the presence of spectators our game had had.

After observing it to our content I and John (colleague) read of it Rufous-capped Babbler (Stachyrus ruficeps) in the few books we possess! Grimmett and Inskipp (2001) state its size as 12 cm as opposed to 14cm for the Eurasian Tree Sparrow and its being a resident in NE Hills. (Gosh! How I dislike the term; but more of it in another post!). Birand and Pawar (2004) and Anwaruddin Choudhury (2008) state of its presence in Mizoram.

We looked at the picture for a while and felt the joy of having the opportunity to not only see another bird but also observe it! And then hoping for many more such incidences got on to complete the tasks we were then upto.