‘Climate change no longer barking but biting humans’

DIMAPUR — Commissioner and Secretary, Department of Forests, Environment and Climate Change, Y Kikheto Sema, on Tuesday sounded an alarm that climate change is biting into the core of all human activities.

“Climate change is not barking anymore but it’s biting them (human beings) now; human intention was the tension of nature, now nature’s intention is their tension,” the commissioner said.

Kikheto was addressing the Wildlife Week Celebration 2023 on the theme ‘Partnerships for wildlife conservation’ held at Protection Camp, Intanki National Park, Peren district.

Informing that Wildlife Week is celebrated across the country every year from October 2 to the 8th, with the main objective of promoting conservation and protection of animal life, he urged all Nagas to come together and work towards the conservation of wildlife and forests.

He lamented that though Nagaland is blessed with rich biodiversity, the people wantonly destroying it.

On alleged illegal activities being carried out in the park, Kikheto appealed to the councils of all 16 villages surrounding the park to lend their helping hand and cooperate with the department in protecting the park.

Affirming that economic activities in the area will grow only if the forest is preserved, he informed that the vision of the department is to convert Intanki National Park into an eco-tourism and wildlife safari destination, to generate employment opportunities and uplift the economy of the neighbouring villages.

With regard to illegal poaching, hunting, fishing and wood cutting, he requested the district administration to be vigilant and also to apprehend the culprits and hand them over to the Forest department.

Later, a Memorandum of Understanding was also signed between the Forest department and the 16 villages bordering Intanki National Park.

Highlights of the MoU

• The parties agreed to cooperate with the state government and the Department in the protection and conservation of Intanki National Park and its bio-diversity.

• To refrain from hunting/poaching and other destructive activities in the National Park and also to make prohibitory orders in their respective villages, to ban hunting and other activities not permitted by law.

• To be a partner with the Department in its policies and programmes in the management of the National Park and to share information of relevance willingly to either party.

• The Department will put effort into the eco-developmental activities of the surrounding villages including livelihood improvement and other employment opportunities of the local youth, in the form of training and other human resource development.

When asked about the rampant commercialisation of animals in the state, Sema told media persons that the purpose of celebrating the Wildlife Week celebration at INP was to show that the state government was serious on the matter of illegal commercialisation of animals.

Chief Wildlife Warden (CWW), Ved Pal Singh, in his address, admitted that the department on its own will not be able to carry out protection of the forest if the public does not cooperate.

Singh also termed the INP as an “unpolished diamond” where tourism safari can be introduced, which can enhance the value of land ten times its present cost.

The CWW further revealed that a study, funded by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), was conducted a few months back where around 40 camera traps were placed within the INP.

The camera trapping revealed some encouraging and positive results, he said.

When asked about the issue of encroachment inside the park, Singh replied that “it’s a long story” and that the issue is being dealt with at the chief secretary’s level.

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