Senge Dzong villagers declare Community Conserved Area on World Environment Day

From A Correspondent

Tinsukia, June 7: As a landmark contribution on the occasion of World Environment Day the villagers of Senge Dzong comprising of 200 households in West Kameng district of Aruchal Pradesh declared their 107 sq km forest as a Community Conserved Area (CCA). With Aruchal Pradesh having 61.05% of the forest cover under the Unclassified State Forest which is completely under the community control, the CCA is the most suitable tool to conserve the rich forest and wildlife of the state. This exercise was accomplished by Pema Wange, Project Officer with WWF-India’s Western Aruchal Landscape Programme (WAL) and Yeshi Tsering, the village head of Senge-dzong, according to a report.

The CCA shares its boundary with Bhutan in the west and Tawang in the north. This CCA also shares its border with Nyukmadung village which is in the fil stages of declaring their forests as CCA as well. The Senge-dzong CCA has a varied altitude range, ranging from 2100-4900m above the sea level, and holds a varied range of flora and fau. The key species of this CCA is the Red panda, which is often sighted by the villagers.

Community Conserved Areas are based entirely on customary rules and agreements, voluntarily conserved by indigenous peoples, local and mobile communities through customary laws or other effective means. The CCA manifesto has been recognised by IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy (CEESP).