State’s first inventory of forest resources ‘Biodiversity of Nagaland’ released

KOHIMA, JUNE 5 : In a befitting tribute to the World Environment Day today, ‘Biodiversity of Nagaland’, a book documenting the diversity of resources of plants and animals in the state researched and compiled by Dr. Sapu Changkija and published by the state department of Forest, Environment & Climate Change was released in Kohima.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Changkija said though Nagaland is a small state, no concrete list of the state’s unique flora and fauna was brought out so far due to certain constraints. He admitted that he was initially hesitant to take up the challenge when he was approached by the department. However, he eventually undertook the task and collaborated with two research scholars to bring out the book.
The educationist says that ‘Biodiversity of Nagaland’ is a checklist of the wealth of Nagaland and a modest attempt to inventory and document the important plants and their floristic characterization, and composition of the state forest resources to make the readers aware of the identified plants and animals of Nagaland. Dr. Changkija and his team are said to have made several botanical explorations while working on the project, covering different districts, visiting ecosystems, forests, vegetations and important locations.

He expressed hope that the book will be a beginning for more researches and open doors for the people to comprehend that Nagaland has the potential to rank among the top richest biodiversities of the world.

Giving a brief introduction to the book, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) & Head of Forest Force (HoFF) Nagaland, M Lokeswara Rao said the book was a first attempt to document the diversified forest resources prevailing in Nagaland. According to the official, the geographical position coupled with the climatic and altitudinal variation of the state makes it home to rich and diverse flora and fauna. He said the book will surely be useful to general public who are enthusiastic about forest wealth resources, and to students and the scientific community as well.

The 258-paged book contains 18 chapters which include brief summaries on the geo-physiography of the state, its forest holding and vegetation system, community conservation and bio-resource management practices.

The book also classifies the state’s different floristic and faunal diversity by listing them according to their botanical/family/species/vernacular names and their common uses. The list contains 322 Indigenous Useful Plants which include medicinal, edible fruits, vegetable, ornamental plants etc; 213 Cultivated (agriculture) Crops; 656 Medicinal Plants; 405 Lesser known Edible Plants; 56 Wild Edible Mushrooms and 40 Host Plant species of specific Mushroom; 46 Lesser known Indigenous Spices; 342 orchids species; 249 Common Cereal and Grasses; 71 Bamboo species, 12 Cane species and 14 allied species; 346 Lichens (lower plant); and 103 Red Data Plants- status of endemic, rare, threatened and endangered plants, among others. In the faunal diversity section, 67 common wild animals, 519 birds species and 149 fish species are listed.

The department officials informed that the book will be made available for free at the department offices. The book was officially released by the Minister for Forest, Environment & Climate Change, Dr. Neikesalie Kire on the occasion of World Environment Day 2016 observation at Kohima.