Tamenglong gears up to welcome Amur Falcon
Source: The Sangai Express / DIPR

Tamenglong, October 16 2024: Preparing for the arrival of Amur Falcons in Manipur, a workshop aimed at raising awareness about the migratory birds and its conservation efforts was held at Tamenglong district headquarters today. The consultative workshop, focused on the protection of the migratory birds, locally known as Akhuaipuina, was organised by the Tamenglong Forest Division in collaboration with the district administration and the Rainforest Club at the UBC Hall, Tamenglong DHQs.

Members of eight villages in Tamenglong which are roosting sites for the birds, environmental activists attended the workshop.

Tamenglong gears up to welcome Amur Falcon

Superintendent of Police of Tamenglong Lanmiyo Luikham, environmental activist Salam Rajesh, Advocate Daniel Kamsuan, director of Rainforest Club, Tamenglong, Mordecai Panmei among other resource persons attended the workshop.

The Amur Falcons (Falco amurensis) are the world's longest travelling small raptors of the falcon family.

These birds breed in South-Eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India, and over the Arabian Sea to Southern and East Africa in winter.

After migrating from their breeding ground, they reach North East India through China, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar during October.

They stay in North East States of Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya etc from second week to last week of November.

Then, they migrate and spend the cold winter season in the warm area of South Africa and stay there upto March, April.

They take a yearly travel of about 20,000 kilometres.

Notably, to conserve and study their migratory pattern, Amur Falcons were first tagged with satellite radios in Manipur in 2018 .

The hunting of the migratory bird is banned.

At the workshop today, Divisional Forest Officer Kh Hitler Singh highlighted efforts taken up to protect the Amur Falcons since 2015 .

He said several Amur Falcons have been tagged with satellite radios to track their migratory birds.

Notably, two of the satellite radio tagged Amur Falcons were named 'Tamenglong' and 'Manipur' .

Emphasising the importance of protecting the birds, the Divisional Forest Officer announced that the Amur Festival has been scheduled for next month.

The festival aims at raising awareness about the migratory birds, he added.

He further informed that two more Amur Falcons will be tagged with satellite radios this season to further study their migratory pattern.

Tamenglong SP, Lanmiyo Luikham urged the communities in the roosting sites to share responsibility in protecting the birds.

He said the communities should take pride in protecting the migratory birds.

Environmental activist, Salam Rajesh acknowledged the contributions of the Tamenglong community in protecting the Amur Falcons.

He, however, lamented that these efforts of the Tamenglong community have often been attributed to Nagaland at the global stage.

He called for greater collaboration among the local villages to enhance protection measures.

Advocate Daniel Kamsuan underscored the legal responsibilities of Indian citizens regarding environmental protection, referencing Article 51- A(g) of the Constitution.

He said harming protected wildlife is a punishable offence which carry a penalty of upto Rs 1 lakh as fine and a jail term of upto 5 years.

Director of Rainforest Club Tamenglong, Mordecai Panmei highlighted the ecological significance of the Amur Falcons, noting that their arrival coincides with the harvesting season.

The bird is locally called Akhuaipuina or the Raruai.

This bird is believed to bring bountiful harvest and as a result they are not killed or eaten, said Mordecai Panmei.

Tamenglong people have been protecting this bird since ancient times, but their contributions have not been recognised globally, Mordecai Panmei added.

He further explained that these birds play a crucial role in controlling the termite population.

The workshop discussed strategies to enhance the protection of the Amur Falcons and foster greater awareness within the community about the significance of these migratory birds.