SESSA, Feb 8: Forty-five officer trainees from Dehradun-based Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy visited the Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary and the Singchung Bugun village community reserve near here in West Kameng district on Friday as part of their east India tour.
The group included an officer from the Royal Bhutan Forest Service, and was led by IFS officer Uttam Kumar Sharma.
The visiting officers interacted with the park staff and DFO Millo Tasser, who briefed them about Arunachal’s forests and about Eaglenest. Tasser highlighted the initiatives taken by the forest department in the management of Eaglenest through various schemes, particularly ecotourism schemes.
Range Forest Officer Dorjee Pema showed the officers around the sanctuary’s Nature Interpretation Centre, and went bird-watching with them. Later in the day, the IFS trainees interacted with the members of the award-winning Singchung Bugun Village Community Reserve Management Committee, seeking to understand their role in forest and wildlife conservation in the area.
The officer trainees were greatly appreciative of the unique people-government collaboration in forest and wildlife conservation in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Eaglenest and Singchung Bugun village community reserve is a model example of what can be achieved when the community and the forest department collaborate. I hope to replicate this in my cadre,” said IFS trainee Saurabh Singh.
“This is the second batch of IFS officers to visit the Eaglenest sanctuary. Range officer trainees from Burnihat, Assam, and assistant conservator of forests trainees from Dehradun also visit Eaglenest every year as part of their study tours. I hope we continue to innovate strategies to protect this biodiversity hotspot and always be a source of learning to the young forest officers,” said Tasser.
