Nagaland Conservationist Y Nuklu Phom from Longleng was named the winner of ‘Whitley Awards 2021‘, also known as the Green Oscar, donated by MAVA Foundation on May 12, 2021 for his efforts in establishing a biodiversity peace corridor in Nagaland.
Nuklu Phom’s name, along with that of five others, was announced Wednesday evening in a virtual award ceremony organised by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN).
The award recognises Phom’s efforts at establishing a new biodiversity peace corridor changing the fate of Amur Falcons, which come to roost in Nagaland each year, from being hunted by locals. Worth £40,000 (about Rs 42 Lakh), the award is for creating a new network of community-owned forests to protect Amur Falcons and increase biodiversity in Nagaland.
“Some people have recently begun hunting and selling these falcons in large numbers, with 14,000 individuals killed annually in one village alone. Nuklu and his team want to offer alternatives that engages communities in conservation using the Amur falcon as a flagship,” the Whitley Awards site mentioned.
“Since the project began in 2007, three reserves have been set aside and the number of roosting falcons has risen dramatically..an estimated 50,000 Amur Falcons roosted in 2010, increasing to as many as 1,000,000 individuals in 2019, thanks to Nuklu’s success,” it added.
Talking to Hindustan Times later, Phom said, “I was born in a small village in eastern Nagaland and our people have always co-existed with nature and depended upon the forests for survival. When I was young, my grandfather told me that the environment was mourning because humans were putting so much pressure on it, and if this continued, my generation would find it hard to survive. He was right.”
Phom currently lives in Longleng with his wife Carolyn, who teaches English in a government school, and their three children.
Talking about his “Biodiversity Peace Corridor” for which he won the Whitley Award, Phom, who is currently in Yaongyimchen told HT on the phone that his concept was to bring communities, policy makers and scientists together while creating a harmonious setting with the environment.
Phom now plans to expand his work to create a network of community reserves to form a biodiversity peace corridor uniting at least 16 villages, revive cultural traditions that teach harmonious land management which looks to benefit thousands of households in those villages.
“During this difficult time of Covid-19 pandemic, the award is even more important because it will support the sustainable livelihoods for people,” he said.
“With the biodiversity peace corridor implemented, there are prospects to bring in research scholars to collect data on the flora and fauna and document them for further intensive research,” he added.
When Phom embarked on his conservation efforts over a decade ago, he formed a team called Lemsachenlok, a community development society, to augment the initiative.
Traditionally, communities in Nagaland practice “slash and burn” in forests annually for jhum cultivation, which adds to the decay of flora and fauna of the area. Phom and his team convinced their community to take up more sustainable farming practices and charted certain areas as community biodiversity conserve forests.
Within a decade, the success of the community biodiversity conservation efforts was the restoration of flora and fauna, and the return of many wild species, he said. Another notable achievement of Phom’s team is that, the conserved areas which also serve as a roosting place for the migratory Amur falcons, have seen a huge increase in the number of the annual winged visitors.
