As regular CFZ-watchers will know, for some time Corinna has been doing a column for Animals & Men and a regular segment on On The Track... particularly about out-of-place birds and rare vagrants. There seem to be more and more bird stories from all over the world hitting the news these days so, to make room for them all - and to give them all equal and worthy coverage - she has set up this new blog to cover all things feathery and Fortean.

Wednesday 6 June 2018

Arunachal Tribe Protects Unique Bird Species, Wins the India Biodiversity Award!



The only new bird species to have been discovered in India since 1947, Bugun Liocichla (Liocichla bugunorumhas no reported sighting anywhere else in the world!

by Rinchen Norbu WangchukMay 24, 2018, 4:14 pm

The best system of governance entails a seamless collaboration between governments and the communities they govern, with trust being reposed on either side. One can cite numerous examples of how such an alliance results in better governance outcomes.

In Arunachal Pradesh’s West Kameng district, one can witness this form of partnership between the members of the Bugun tribal community from Singchung village and the local Forest Department. Together, they make up the Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve Management Committee (SBVCR).

The alliance was formalised in January 2017, and earlier this week, this community reserve was awarded the India Biodiversity Award in the “Conservation of Wildlife Species” category for its effort to conserve the critically endangered bird—Bugun liocichla.

To the uninitiated, the award is conferred by the National Biodiversity Association, and this year it was presented by the Union environment ministry and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The community reserve, considered a biodiversity hotspot, covers an area of 17 square kilometres, and is adjacent to the to the Eaglesnest Wildlife Sanctuary (EWS).

“The ten staff members (village boys) of the SBVCR [take turns and] patrol the area every day and have already prevented several instances of illegal road building and boulder extraction in the habitat of the Bugun Liocichla,” Millo Tasser, divisional forest officer of EWS, told The Telegraph.

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