Shillong, Aug 4: Wild elephant herds moving about the Assam-Meghalaya boundary in Goalpara (Assam) and West Garo Hills (Meghalaya) do not recognise the man-made geographical boundary between the two states and that requires people-to-people and coordination between the Forest Departments of Assam and Meghalaya to decide on ways to coexist.
With this objective, an awareness programme on coexistence with wild elephants took place at Naguapara village community in West Garo Hills on August 1 under the aegis of Aaranyak, in collaboration with the Lakhipur Forest Range of Assam Forest Department and Wildlife Protection Range, West Garo Hills. This programme aimed to inculcate in villagers from both sides of the inter-state boundary a deeper understanding of conservation and human elephant coexistence.
Villagers from Meghalaya requested Assam Forest Department for instant help, if possible, during elephant patrolling near border villages. The participants from both Assam and Meghalaya area wished for greater people-to-people coordination in mitigating the human-elephant conflict (HEC) in the Assam-Meghalaya boundary area.
In Naguapara the local community belongs to the Rabha and Garo tribes. The residents of these villages have been experiencing HEC for a long time, a press release from Aaranyak said today.
Around 50 participants including farmers, teachers and Nokmas from Naguapara and different nearby villages belonged to Meghalaya and Assam, namely Khasiapara, Ganarugre, Kalapara, Mauriapara, Besorkona, Joyramkuchi, Medhipara Part II and Kasubari, attended the awareness programme. Nokmas from West Garo Hill along with local farmers attended the meeting and shared their issues and present status of HEC mitigation.
The programme was moderated by Nabajyoti Basumatary of Lakhipur ECN group. Anjan Baruah from Aaranyak discussed with the participants probable HEC mitigation measures in that area through a presentation. He also discussed various important dos and don’ts, displaying some slides for the promotion of coexistence.
Lakhipur Range Officer Mou Pran Gayan talked about the present scenario of elephants in the Assam-Meghalaya border area. Forester Dhon Ch. Doloi shared some of the experiences with elephants and provided some tips for coexistence. Oshim Sangma of Wildlife Protection Range, WGH informed the gathering about different HEC mitigation measures undertaken by the Meghalaya Forest Department.
Nokma Nalemson Sangma, Head Teacher of Naguapara UP School Prafulla Rabha, retired teacher Chandra Nath and Village Champion and RRU member of Borogobal Nabin Rabha, talked about the present HEC related issues in their areas and support provided from the Meghalaya Forest Department.
