New Delhi, April 20, 2007: In an extraordinary gesture, a tribal village in Selbalgre in the Eastern Indian state of Meghalaya has declared today their first officially notified Village Wildlife Reserve, a development which can be termed as first of its kind in the state.

The village, which is located about 20 kilometers from the Tura district headquarters, is an important Hollock Gibbon (Bunopithecus hoolock) habitat.

"This is a welcome move, and is quite unique, since the villagers themselves have decided to keep aside some of their land for wildlife conservation." Dr. Rahul Kaul of WTI said.

This development has come, following a project initiated by Wildlife Trust of India with support from the British High Commission to study the role of the District Councils for protection of forest and wildlife.

The area comprises about 500 hectares - 5 sq kms of forests, which may be expanded in the near future, as villagers have shown willingness to give more land.

WTI has been working closely with the Autonomous District Councils in the state to empower and strengthen them for protection of forests and wildlife.

In the recent past, WTI had conducted several discussions with the Council Members, the Nokmas (Village head) and others for helping them to take good decisions.

The objective of the project is also to come out with a policy document which will help the councils to tackle contemporary issues on wildlife conservation.

As part of this project, WTI has been collecting information on the forest resource extractions by the villagers and also produced forest cover maps to help in the study.

In December last year, The Garo Hills Autonomous District Council (GHADC) by a notification (No.CF.430/CW/ADC/06/3252-58) had constituted a Wildlife Monitoring Committee to suggest measures for wildlife conservation in areas which are under their jurisdiction.

The GHADC Chairman is heading the seven member committee with representatives from WTI.

The main task of this committee is to identify areas where conservation actions can be initiated.

The committee had approached the Nokma of the Selbalgre village to know the opinion of the villagers on the proposed reserve, which was willingly accepted by them.

Presently, the Garo Hills Autonomous District Council has 30 members and is responsible for the welfare of the villages in its control.

Rampant tree feeling for Jhum cultivation by tribes-people has disturbed the sensitive ecosystem, and could lead to a serious ecological disaster in the near future.

The harmful consequences of this practice in the state are already visible. Lack of rainfall coupled with little forest cover to retain the under ground water has created water scarcity in some areas.

"The villagers have welcomed the move, since they understood that the improvement of vegetation cover will improve water retention in the area." Dr. Kaul said.

Related Website: http://www.wildlifetrustofindia.org/