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Dipender Manta
For the past few years, women in the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti have taken upon themselves to protect the wildlife and forest wealth of the district. As a result, forest vegetation has increased and the count of wildlife animals such as snow leopard, musk dear, Himalayan Thar, Himalyan blue sheep bharal, Ibex among others is thriving in the region.
The efforts of Forest Department finally bore fruits, as they were the ones who took the initiative to involve tribal women and make them aware about the importance of protection of wildlife and forest wealth. The department engaged local Mahila Mandals for the protection of wildlife and even rewarded them for doing a wonderful job. It encouraged them and now, they are taking it as opportunity to boost wildlife tourism in the region as wildlife animal lovers prefer seeing glimpses of these rare animal species.
A cold desert, Lahaul Spiti district remains covered under a thick blanket of snow for months together. Due to heavy snowfall in the region, wildlife animals descend to the lower region, which makes them an easy prey for offenders.
The district is notorious for hunting because the skin and other body parts of these rare species fetch quite a handsome price in national and international market. A few species of goats and birds are hunted to meet the demand of meat, as tribals used to eat meat during the winter season to keep their body warm and strong.
But for the past few years, tribal women even went on to the extent of defying their male counterparts and stopped them from hunting animals. Local Mahila Mandals impose fine, socially boycott culprits and inform the Forest Department about the culprits for further action. It plays a crucial role in protecting the wildlife animals in the region.
In 2017, Shiv Kumar, an avid wildlife photographer, had set up a trap camera in Lahaul valley before the onset of winter. The camera recorded a snow leopard chasing a pack of ibex near Udaipur, 3 km towards Miyar valley. The leopard for the first time was captured on camera in the area.
This year, a pair of snow leopard was captured in Spiti valley, while Ibex were found in abundance in the region, which is a good sign for the conservation of wildlife in the region.
Talking to The Tribune, Sonam Tsomo, pradhan gram panchayat Yornath in Lahaul-Spiti, said: “Tribal women are doing a wonderful job in protecting the wild animals in the region for the past few years. We have taken tough measures to curb the illicit hunting of animals in this cold desert, in which we have decided unanimously to impose heavy fine on offenders, expose them in society and also inform the Forest Department. Our decision played a crucial role in protecting wildlife animals.”
“Now, people of valley are taking wildlife conservation as an opportunity to create self-employment in the region by promoting wildlife tourism. Lahaul-Spiti is a favourite tourist destination for nature lovers. Tourists and nature lovers visiting here always remain excited to have a glimpse of these rare animal species, which are found in the region.” she said.
Chetan Zangmo, panchayat samiti member of Kolan and Darcha panchayats, said: “The Mahila Mandals of Jispa, Kalang, Kolang, Darcha, Yurnath and other panchayats are quite active in Lahaul-Spiti for the conservation of wildlife and forest vegetation. They were involved in the plantation of forest vegetation in the region.
Ramesh Kumar Rulba, president of Zila Parishad Lahaul-Spiti, said: “Hunting wild animals has become a thing of the past now in this district because every person takes it as their responsibility to conserve nature and wildlife. The representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions in Lahaul-Spiti are also working in this direction, of which many are women.
Jai Ram, former Divisional Forest Officer at Keylong in Lahaul Spiti, who retired on April 30 this year, said: “The efforts of local Mahila Mandals in conserving the wildlife and nature in the region is remarkable. Due to fear of these women, illicit poaching has been controlled to quite an extent and the population of wild animals is thriving.”
Devender Chauhan, Wildlife Range Officer at Spiti, said: “Locals’ contribution in conserving the wildlife in Spiti valley is commendable. A majority of people in Spiti valley are followers of Buddhism, which prohibits hunting of animals.” There are two sanctuaries in Spiti valley — Chandra Tal and Kibber, while one national park in Pin valley.
The district consists of two formerly separate districts of Lahaul and Spiti. The present administrative centre is Keylong in Lahaul. Before the two districts were merged, Kardang was the capital of Lahaul and Dhankar of Spiti. The district was formed in 1960 and is the fourth least populous district in India.
Kunzum la or the Kunzum Pass (altitude 4,551 m (14,931 ft)) is the entrance to the Spiti Valley from Lahaul. It is 21 km from Chandra Tal. This district is connected to Manali through the Rohtang Pass. To the south, Spiti ends 24 km from Tabo, at Sumdo, where the road enters Kinnaur and joins National Highway-22.
The two valleys are quite different in character. Spiti is barren and difficult to cross, with an average elevation of the valley floor of 4,270 m (14,010 ft). It is enclosed between lofty ranges, with Spiti River rushing out of a gorge in the southeast to meet the Sutlej. It is a typical mountain desert area with an average annual rainfall of only 170 mm.