ITANAGAR, 21 Jun: As part of the plan to establish a planetary interpretation centre in the Tippi wildlife range in the Pakke tiger reserve (PTR), a community-based map, focussing on the Tippi-Bhalukpong area and the PTR, was released on Tuesday by the forest department, the DBT/Welcome Trust India Alliance and Bengaluru-based Institute of Public Health.
Yangchin Musabi, a 21-year-old animation student and illustrator from Rupa, was selected to prepare a creative community-centred map of the area “after an open call for Northeast Indian and Arunachali illustrators was put out by Rohan Chakravarty from Green Humour and Dr Nandini Velho, a wildlife researcher affiliated with the Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology,” according to a release.
“I was drawn to Yangchin’s style, particularly given the playfulness and detail in her past work and her interest in the storytelling aspects of the natural world and Arunachal Pradesh,” said Velho.
Musabi commenced fieldwork around the PTR in February this year. The map prepared by her will be installed permanently at the planetary centre in Tippi.
“I worked on a few different styles and approaches until I felt that our iterations placed the focus on people, wildlife and health in a style that depicted the immense value of Pakke Tiger Reserve and its adjacent areas. The baseline of the map was generated together with people from different communities living around Pakke, as well as researchers, scientists, forest watchers and department staff,” said Musabi.
“I am delighted to have worked with Yangchin on this project, and there is great potential for artists, scientists, forest departments and residents to work together in such a creative manner. I urge more Arunachali youths to join hands with us on such projects, as there is so much public-spirited work to be done for our state and our forests,” said Tippi Wildlife Range Forest Officer Kime Rambia.
