Twenty two frontline staff from 10 Forest divisions of Assam were trained on Hoolock Gibbon conservation conducted by the Aaranyak, a biodiversity organisation in collaboration with the Jorhat Forest Division.
The week-long training was supported by the Habitats Trust, and IUCN Primate Specialists Group
The forest staff were those from the Cachar, Dima Hasao East, Dima Hasao West, Doomdooma, Hailakandi, Karbi Anglong East, Karbi Anglong West, Sivsagar and South Nagaon forest divisions.
The Western Hoolock Gibbon is found only in the seven Northeastern states situated on the southern bank of the Dibang–Brahmaputra river system. However, poaching, encroachment, and habitat fragmentation pose the biggest threats to these animals.
According to Aaranyak, there is lack of the information about the Hoolock gibbon in different sections of the people including the newly appointed foresters of the Assam Forest Department. The frontline staff who work in the field are unaware about the various facets of Hoolock gibbon conservation strategy, it said.
Keeping this in view and to generate conservation tempo in the frontline in Assam, Aaranyak designed a series of “Training of Forest Frontline staff for the Conservation of Hoolock Gibbon in Assam in 2024”.
A wide range of related topic areas were covered including — Biodiversity in Northeast India and conservation, Primates Conservation in Northeast India with special reference to Hoolock gibbon, Gibbon Census or Population estimation, Gibbon Data collection, maintaining & reporting, Techniques of Floristic study, Gibbon habitat characteristic and Restoration, Population and Habitat Monitoring, Gibbon rescue and rehabilitation, Global Positioning System & use in field, and Legal Orientation (Wildlife Laws and its application).
This course had provided participants with an initial understanding of the basic principles of Primatology, experience with the methods and techniques used in field research. The course consists of daily lectures and field exercises.
During the training, Dr. I.C. Baruah of Assam Agricultural University, Dr. Prabal Sarkar of University Science and Technology Meghalaya, Dr. Bhaskar Choudhury from Wildlife Trust of India, Ajoy Kumar Das of Guwahati High Court, Gunin Saikia, Former Deputy Conservator of Forest, Mridu Paban Phukan from Wildlife Conservation & Study Centre, and Aaranyak’s Arup Kumar Das, Akshay Kumar Upadhaya, Simanta Medhi, and Dr. Dilip Chetry trained the forest officials.
The convocation of the training was held under the chair of Dr. Sarkar who thanked Aaranyak for helping the Assam Forest Department in capacity building of the new frontline staff for the conservation of biodiversity of Assam.
The training concluded with distribution of the study material such as training Manuals, Gibbon books, Posters, Stickers and Certificates, among the trainees.
