On the occasion of #WildlifeWeek the #EJAtlasteam and Kalpavriksh are launching an interactive map on Conservation Conflicts in India, which reveals the impacts of this fortress-like conservation model in India. This new map documents the violations of Wildlife laws in Protected Areas and shows the struggles of local and Indigenous communities opposing policies that exclude them from the current management of natural resources. The map reveals lack of regard for the self-determination of the communities by the government authorities.#ConflictsPAIndia

https://ejatlas.org/featured/conflictprotectedareaindia

Dear All, 
As part of the webinar series on Community Conserved Areas organised by the ICCA South Asia Regional Coordination Committee, the next webinar will be on the Monpa communities in Arunachal Pradesh, India on 6th October at 5pm. 

To register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Kt65RLgzQkWPXd4iTDxPdA
To view on Youtube live: https://www.youtube.com/c/iccaconsortium/live

About the CCA

The Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is located within the Himalayas Biodiversity Hotspot. Large parts of the state’s forested area (>60% accounting 3.1 million ha) are under traditional ownership of tribal communities. These forests are managed by clans, traditional village institutions and individuals. Within the West Kameng and Tawang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, the area under community custodianship is even higher. In these two districts, more than 80% of forests are de-facto under the jurisdiction of  the local communities and administered by their customary laws.

The biological richness of the forests of Arunachal Pradesh are amongst the highest in the Himalayan region. The Western Arunachal Landscape, is endowed with luxuriant forests and a great diversity of plant and animal species, many of which are endemic to the Eastern Himalayas. The region is also a critical habitat for several species on the IUCN Red List such as the snow leopard, red panda, Asiatic black-bear, clouded leopard, golden cat, serow, and black-necked crane. Most of these threatened species are facing threats from habitat degradation and fragmentation, emerging developmental projects, hunting and other anthropogenic pressures. 

Approximately 0.18 million people (with ~80% rural population) depend on natural resources in Arunachal Pradesh. Mostly, a traditional agro-pastoral system is followed using available natural resources. The community manages oak (Quercusgriffithii) forests around their farmland to collect fallen leaves for the purpose of mulching, and also practice mixed cropping with a combination of legumes that helps maintain soil fertility. However, the traditional dependency and relationship between the local communities and natural resources is eroding; threatened by an increase in commercial demand and a breakdown of traditional institutional mechanisms. The forests of Arunachal Pradesh face several other threats i.e. forest fires, clearing of forests for commercial agriculture, monoculture plantations, linear infrastructure and mega-hydropower development.

To address some of these challenges, the local Monpa communities of the region have mobilized themselves around the Community Conserved Area (CCA) model. The work to establish CCA in the forest areas under their jurisdiction was initiated nearly a decade and half ago and currently there are nine CCAs covering around 1500 sq. km of forest. It all began in Thembang village in West Kameng district when the local community setting up the Thembang Bapu CCA on 30 km² of forests under their custodianship. Later, this was expanded to cover 635 km² encompassing dense forests with snow-capped mountains and high-altitude lakes that provide a secure habitat for threatened species including the red panda and snow leopard. In order to complement and strengthen the forest conservation initiative, community-based tourism (CBT) was introduced in 2009. The CCA Management Committee in Thembang has greatly matured and operates independently.  The Community Based Organization was also with a little support from WWF India able to manage and implement a project from the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India on marketing their crop produce.  Community leaders and local team members from WWF-India will share insights and learning from the initial processes of CCA establishment and the journey so far.  

Speakers:

Jam Tsering, Zilla Parishad Member & Secretary, Thembang Bapu Community Conserved Area. 

Pema Wange Sr. Project Officer, WWF-India & Member, Thembang Bapu Community Conserved Area. 

Lham Tsering Field Officer, WWF-India & Member, PangchenLakhar Community Conserved Area. 

Kamal Medhi Landscape Coordinator, WAL, WWF-India.  

Pijush K Dutta Lead, Community Engagement, WWF-India

To view the previous webinars:

1. Fishing Communities of Loktak Lake, Manipur by Salam Rajesh

2. Wetland Conservation in Vidharba, Maharashtra by Manish Rajankar(BNVSAM) and Shalu Kolhe

3. Van Panchayats in Uttarakhand by Malika Virdi, Rekha Rautela and Beena Nitwal

For any query or to sign up to the CCA South Asia elist, please write to [email protected] 

Regards

ICCA South Regional Coordination Committee

Dear all,

Please see attached a poster announcing our second online event for children around one of the books that we recently published: The Miracle on Sunderbaag by Nandita da Cunha and illustrated by Priya Kuriyan.
This event is being organised in collaboration with Story Station and Katha Mehfil on October 4th at 4 pm.

Please do pass this around to children who may be interested in joining. Here is the zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81101735979

Thanks!

To read the entire Newsletter, please click here.

About the Talk

Village Forest Commons are a long-standing institution in Uttarakhand that pre-dates the current format of the Van Panchayats yielded by the colonial British after their regional appropriation of all lands. Like true commons, these forest and rangeland commons have been protected and used by village communities primarily to meet their subsistence needs of fuelwood, fodder and small timber as also providing the critical nutrient cycling of compost that makes hill agriculture possible at all. Though currently facing a slew of incremental measures to control and commercialize these forests they remain, wherever communities are still dependent on agriculture and pastoralism, their live support base. In such area, especially at higher altitudes village forests and rangelands are extensive, constituting over 60% of the landscape in the Gori river basin. One village forest, for instance, covers about 860 sq km, larger than the largest protected area in the state. Not surprisingly, such areas harbour wildlife and biological diversity comparable to Protected Areas in the same geographical zones.

Join us as the speakers discuss the persisting relevance of Van Panchayat in the face of the larger dismantling of Commons worldwide, the continued dependence of poorer households for their livelihoods, rapidly dwindling biological diversity everywhere and the critical the need for forests and wild spaces in the cultural and economic context.

Malika Virdi is her second term as Sarpanch, the elected head of the Sarmoli- Jainti Van Panchayat.

Rekha Rautela is a panch (elected representative) of Sarmoli Van Panchayat

Beena Nitwal is a panch (elected representative) of Sankhdhura Van Panchayat

To join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82247993867 

View the previous webinars:

For any query or to sign up to the CCA South Asia e-list, please write to [email protected] 

To know the details please see the brochure attached.

To place your order, write to [email protected] or visit kalpavriksh.org/our-store

To read the entire Newsletter, please click here.

To read the entire Newsletter, please click here.