Bringing Back Manas

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The sixth schedule of the constitution provides tribal people of some parts of northeast India a role in designing the development of their land. This is to ensure that the development happened free of external influences or pressures and also in accordance with the local traditions and needs. Forests, being a “transferred” subject to the tribal councils, and bestows considerable responsibilities upon these councils to effect conservation of forests and wildlife within their areas. Northeast India, comprising the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Sikkim is regarded as one of the 25 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world (Myers et.al., 2000). It is designated as one the important ecoregions i.e. Northeast India-Myanmar forests (Olson & Dinerstein, 1998) and has more than 50% forest cover (Forest Survey of India, 2001). These forests hold major wildlife species like tiger (Panthera tigris), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Greater Onehorned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), leopard, (Panthera pardus) clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), Takin (Budorcas taxicolor), golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis) and Phayre’s leaf monkey (Trachypithecus phayeri) which are on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Animals 2000 (IUCN, 2002). Societies of this region are pre-dominantly agrarian and their dependence on forests for sustenance and livelihoods is heavy. Being relatively under-developed compared to other regions of the country, opportunities for alternative livelihoods are limited. People's dependence on forests and also on meat (Hilaluddin et al.,, 2005) is taking a heavy toll on these CHAPTER I Introduction Rahul Kaul and Sandeep Kumar Tiwari natural resources. This is apparently more so after a ban was imposed on the felling of trees, curtailing further, any opportunities to earn livelihoods through timber. Northeast India also has a typical system of forest management, wherein the local communities manage large areas of forests. This is more so in the states under Schedule VI of the Constitution i.e. Tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura. By virtue of this schedule, the management of all forests other than government reserved forests and Protected Areas are under Autonomous District Councils. The District Councils are constitutional bodies with a large degree of functional autonomy which has its own administrative apparatus for the management of forests. For example in the state of Meghalaya the government controls only 1127. 23 Km 2 of the total of 9312.82 Km 2 forest area which includes the reserve forests, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas. The rest is under the jurisdiction of the district councils. In addition, the local communities also have their traditional customary laws, which work in conjunction with the laws made by the district councils. Although the district councils have laws to manage the forests, there appears to be no mechanism within the district councils for the protection of wildlife. The nature of forest management in the northeast India is quite different from the rest of the country and involves people down to the village levels in determining the land use. However, the status vis-à-vis wildlife conservation as a subject matter within the district councils appears vague and without any mention. The state is effecting wildlife protection within the national
parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserve forests under their custody but who protect wildlife within the jurisdiction of the district council?. Further, do the present laws and also the resources at their disposal allow the district councils to take the steps necessary for initiating and achieving wildlife conservation and if they do, do the district councils have the capacity and the infrastructure to undertake all this? These are some of the questions we wanted answers to when we initiated this project. It was imperative therefore that these doubts are cleared so that a roadmap for initiation of conservation activities in the district councils could be charted. A full review of the prevailing laws and their origins was conducted. This also involved meeting with members of the executive council in an effort to understand their views on the subject and also the constraints they faced in initiating wildlife conservation in their respective areas. There were also certain issues with the central laws on forests and wildlife and their applicability in the district councils. In the case of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), the nomenclature used was different from that of an ‘Autonomous District Council as in Garo Hills or the ‘Autonomous Council’ as in Karbi- Anglong. Was this a difference in nomenclature only or did this imply differences in the way each functioned and how these then translated to initiating and achieving conservation needed to be clarified. We initiated work in the BTC with three preconceived activities. i) It was important to know the state of forests in Bodoland Territorial Council and thus maps were generated using satellite images which were then ground truthed. This provided us a distribution of the forest resources within the BTC and the extent of different types of forests available. ii) We also wanted to know how dependent the local people were on the forest resources and a questionnaire survey was conducted covering the whole of the BTC area to address issues of energy, wildmeat, incomes etc. iii) We studied peoples perception on the issues of wildlife conservation and governance so that these could be communicated to the community leaders and policymakers. For this also a questionnaire survey was undertaken. However, as we got involved more with the project, it became apparent that there were more issues that required work. At the instance of the BTC, we undertook a wildlife survey with the purpose of identifying rich faunal areas to propose them for increased protection. Following were the main activities undertaken in the BTC area: Meeting with the Executive committee members of the Bodo Territorial Council to apprise them about the purpose of the project. Surveys to collect data on resource utilization and peoples’ perception. Meeting with the Members and the forest department of BTC to present findings of the surveys. Planning meetings for the wildlife survey. Exposure trips to wildlife sanctuaries managed for tourism in East Africa to explore possibility of replicating such models in BTC area. Equipping volunteers of Maozigandri and training them in crime detection. Presentation of the findings of the wildlife survey report and the proposals for consideration of creating additional sanctuaries in BTC. This compilation comprises chapters dealing with all the above and additionally on the rescue and rehabilitation activities we have undertaken in the area. The second chapter deals in detail with trying to understand the powers of the BTC in the administration of its wildlife thereby bringing into discussion, provisions of all the central acts like the Wildlife (Protection) Act, the Forest Conservation Act and the Bio-diversity Act. This section also makes references to certain landmark decisions affecting forest conservation and their possible impacts on conservation in the region. The next section deals with the surveys on forest availability through forest type and land use maps generated from satellite images. This section provides an insight into the extent of forests left and their distribution. This is well complemented by the chapter on wildlife surveys in three districts of BTC where in addition to the distribution of mammals, density values of each forest type are provided. The chapter also provides distribution on birds which is useful if eco-tourism activities need to be promoted in the region.(This chapter also makes recommendations for creation of two new protected areas and identified and maps the areas). The resource extraction chapter deals how forest resources are utilized by local people and how dependent they are on the forests. The concept of Greater Manas is discussed in Chapter VII. The joint partnership between WTI, the Bodoland Territorial Council and the British High Commission, who provided financial assistance for this project, has made an effort to nurture the rich conservation traditions of the Bodos. This is a small step in achieving sustainable conservation practices in the region and many more steps need to be taken to make this happen. 12 Bringing Back Manas
Page 2 and 3: BRINGING BACK MANAS Conserving the
Page 4 and 5: CONTENTS MESSAGES 5 PREFACE 7 ACKNO
Page 6: ROCKYBUL HUSSAIN Phone : (0361) 223
Page 9 and 10: The effort to bring back Manas was
Page 11: Manas’ wherein lodged within the
Page 15 and 16: Introduction In 1996, the Supreme C
Page 17 and 18: Within the Bodo area of Assam, a
Page 19 and 20: However, the crucial and most signi
Page 21 and 22: One representative of the Forest or
Page 23 and 24: provisions shall “as far as may b
Page 25 and 26: According to Sec. 2(h) ‘local bod
Page 27 and 28: Local Biodiversity Fund Chapter XI
Page 29 and 30: Further, the Court issued various d
Page 31 and 32: economic decline will be feeding ea
Page 33 and 34: members of the tribal areas of Assa
Page 35 and 36: Profile of Bodoland Territorial Cou
Page 37 and 38: Table 2 District wise population di
Page 39 and 40: Table 4 Social Forestry Divisions F
Page 41 and 42: Terminalia bellerica, Schima wallic
Page 43 and 44: type of forest, grasses like Impera
Page 45 and 46: Introduction Land use and land cove
Page 47 and 48: 46 Bringing Back Manas Fig.23 Break
Page 49 and 50: Table.10 Land use and land cover an
Page 51 and 52: Table.12 Land use land cover and it
Page 53 and 54: Table 14 Land use and land cover an
Page 55 and 56: Table 16 Land use and land cover an
Page 57 and 58: The land use characteristics and sp
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purchased (1.89%) or collected free
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(d) Grasses, Cane and medicinal pla
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Anecdotal surveys conducted by amat
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Fig. 63 Map showing land use and la
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Table 20 Shrub species diversities
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Table 22 Bird species diversities i
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Bird diversity Mean species richnes
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Fig.66 Map of the study area showin
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Fig 68 Map of study area showing lo
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Fig 70 Map of the study area showin
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The other ungulate of conservation
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It does appear that exotic weed suc
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Bengal. This area, with the excepti
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88 Bringing Back Manas Fig.82 Map o
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Introduction Forest resources play
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people do not own any forest area.
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Fig. 95 People's perception on init
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was responsible for conflict in all
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Fig.113 District wise variation on
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department. However, 14.29% of peop
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While the Greater Manas concept was
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twin paddocks were deemed essential
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Fig. 127 Blood collection after rad
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With the Chief Wildlife Warden of A
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crate. A long MS pipe, hooked on to
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On the day of relocation, on the 23
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the release area, a thorough diseas
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A daily record of the progress of a
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) Whenever visual contact was lost,
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The need for training frontline for
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national average on state PAs is 40
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1. Introduction Urbanization and en
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3. Mobile Veterinary support in Low
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encountered was the Burmese rock py
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fall sick. Very often, small health
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Morgan, E.R., Lundervold, M., Medle
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spirit of the Constitution (seventy
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Bringing Back Manas APPENDIX ‘A
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medium of instruction in educationa
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10. Additional development package
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Background and Objective 9.22.1 The
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Act should be reviewed to plug the
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As regards Mizoram, the Commission
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Clarification - term ‘State Gover
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transportation by Railways will be
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pattern obtaining in the State of H
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districts or regions concerned, and
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cases of the nature referred to in
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(2) If any dispute arises as to the
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(b) the Governor may, by public not
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(2) Any direction given by the Gove
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(hereafter referred to as the exist
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education and research, protection
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*Paragraph 10 has been amended in i
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espective districts, shall have pow
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Bringing Back Manas (a) in the head
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Bringing Back Manas Species ANNEXUR
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Bringing Back Manas Plants/ha Speci
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 7 LIST
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 10 LIS
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Bringing Back Manas Species Birds/h
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 27 BIR
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 33 CUM
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 34 CUM
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Bringing Back Manas 233
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areas of Assam, Uttar Pradesh and W
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Unlike in the stabilization yard, c
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stopped every hours to thoroughly c
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1. Wildlife rehabilitation India’
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and front-foot circumference, body
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keeper’s shoulder or chest for co
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Considerations for selecting the re
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Bringing Back Manas ANNEXURE 37 Ori
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Session 5: 10.00 PM - 01.00 PM - Pr
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India at the International Whaling
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Bringing Back Manas Wildlife Trust
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Bringing Back Manas

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