Tripartite MoU singed to save Amur Falcons - Nagaland Post

Village council members of Pangti, Asshaa and Sungro villages, under Wokha have signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Wokha-based NGO Natural Nagas to assist Nagaland forest department to stop wide-scale hunt of Amur Falcons in Doyang Reservoir. In a press release, WTI's Awareness for Conservation assistant manager Subhamoy Bhattacharjee stated that with mass annual hunt potentially threatening the species, a resolution was cleared by the villages to penalize offenders up to five thousand rupees this year onwards. The tri-partite MoU seeks to start awareness generation through a targeted campaign, including the use of signage, collaterals, wildlife films etc. MoU pledged to engage locals in protecting Amur Falcons: formulating watch squads to help protect Amur falcon roosting or foraging sites and watch tower construction to promote bird watching. It was also agreed to formulate laws and guidelines in accordance with the VCMs to prohibit hunting and poaching of Amur falcons and help mitigate human-wildlife conflicts. Tens of thousands of Amur Falcons were reportedly hunted annually for their meat in the district, as they crossed the region en route to Africa from Siberia. "Following a report on the hunting of Amur Falcons by Conservation India, a Rapid Action Project (RAP) was initiated by WTI and Natural Nagas to spread awareness on the plight of the species among the local communities," said Steve Odyuo, Natural Nagas. 'Friends of the Amur Falcon' Campaign "Friends of the Amur Falcon", a comprehensive campaign to protect the Amur Falcons, has been launched in Wokha. A Dimapur-based NGO, Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust (NWBCT), which is leading the campaign, stated that the campaign would include nature education, creation of Amur Falcon EcoClubs, patrolling and enforcement as well as scientific study of the birds. It said the campaign was ion response to the mass killings of Amur Falcon that was recorded last year by the team. The campaign is being supported by top conservation institutions like Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Birdlife, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Raptor Research and Conservation Foundation (RRFC) and Wildlife Conservation Trust (WCT) with active encouragement and support from Nagaland government. It's our duty to protect birds: Rio Chief minister Neiphiu Rio has said the state government was committed to end the "unfortunate killings" of migratory Maur Falcons in Nagaland. In a message, Rio said "it is our duty to protect these wonderful birds while they are passing through Nagaland, and to treat them as our honoured and esteemed guests, in the true Naga tradition of hospitality." Further, chief minister appealed to all the people of Nagaland, particularly Wokha and Mokokchung districts, where the birds used to take rest, to end the killings of those birds. He said the state government also fully supported the efforts of the Nagaland Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation Trust and other NGOs to educate the people about those migratory birds. "Let us realise that man and other creastions are inter-dependent and we need each other for our long-term survival on this planet earth," asserted Rio. via Science - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHV9ti8zz57hetZCO9aJJoI5JI-6A&url=http://www.nagalandpost.com/ChannelNews/State/StateNews.aspx?news=TkVXUzEwMDA0NDIzOA%253D%253D-fWhUuwvpeo0%253D

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