Yaongyimchen: celebrating five years of biodiversity conservation

Chief Secretary along with other officers after Inauguration of Traveler’s Hut at National Highway 702. (DIPR Photo)

The International Wildlife Week was celebrated today at Yaongyimchen Village in Longleng district commemorating five years of biodiversity conservation projects by its community.

It was supplemented with a Seminar on Human Animal Conflict.

The Community Bio-Diversity Conservation program was launched by the Lemsachenlok, a Development Society under three villages – Yaongyimchen, Alayong and Sanglu – in 2012 in commemoration of Golden Jubilee celebration of Yaongyimchen Students’ Union. All the activities of the Bio-Diversity Conservation were done by the efforts and contribution of the village people.

Speaking as the chief guest at the program, Chief Secretary of Nagaland Pankaj Kumar, IAS, said that the hardest and most precious work of mankind was to shun violence and conflict with animals by adopting conservation of wild life and forestry.

The Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary released a booklet on Wild Species found under the conservation area and Colocasia Esculenta Species an indigenous food of Yaongyimchen village respectively. According to the booklet 37 species of birds, 59 species of butterflies and 12 species of wild animals have been found and identified under the biodiversity conservation.

Congratulating the villagers for successful implementation of Biodiversity Conservation program Kumar asserted that Yaongyimchen has occupied a special place in the world because of its successful conservation of wildlife through hard work and unity of the villages without any assistance from the government. He stated that such achievement should be emulated by others.

Asserting that learning is a continuous process he said the purpose of his visit was to learn from the people and to fill the gap between the people and the government, and to work jointly for proper implementation of government schemes in the future.

He lauded the village functionaries for judiciously utilizing the VDB funds for community development. He was optimistic and assured the people that their hard work and dedication will not go in vain but will reap healthy harvest in the future.

T. Imkonglemba Ao, IAS, Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Commissioner & Chairman Nagaland Bamboo Mission encouraged the villagers not to get exhausted with their hard work but to continue their effort to promote community development for sustainable economic growth in the village.

He informed them that the government will focus more on the area and the people where there is people’s participation, and exhorted them to nurture God gifted resources wisely. He announced that international projects under his department would be launched in the sate shortly and he was confident that the villages will be benefited from the project.

Roy P. Thomas, IFS Joint Director (Wildlife) Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change Government of India and Y. Denngan Avennoho Phom Deputy Commissioner of Longleng also spoke and exhorted the villagers. Beizo DEF Longleng spoke on Wildlife Protection Act and their Implications and Satya Prakash Tripathi, IFS Chief Wildlife Warden (PCCF) Wildlife Government of Nagaland delivered a short speech.

Other activities

Inauguration of Pendo Langpu Bridge that connects Dikhu River leading to Bio-Diversity Conservation area and Traveler’s Resting Hut in National Highway 702 by the Chief Secretary; Inauguration of Community Agri Link Road and Peyong Malong Resting Hut at Liok, Nemba by the Principal Secretary, Agriculture Production Commissioner and display of rich tradition cultural dances by both men and women folks were the activities of the day long program.

Published at Nagaland Post on October 8, 2017