Conservation works for peahens in Bihar village
|
|
The Pioneer
|
|
New Delhi
|
2 Jul 2012
|
|
A rare story of community conservation of peafowl in Madhopur Govind village of East Champaran district in Bihar for six decades has given rise to a flourishing population of the National Bird in this isolated patch of the State.
Madhopur Govind is now known as the “Peacock village”. For the villagers, this is matter of pride. The success of their conservation story was even lauded by Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar during his recent visit to the village.
He has directed the forest department to undertake a scientific survey of the site and recommended better protection and conservation of these peafowl.
Peafowl is a Schedule I species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act. The bird enjoys the same degree of protection as Lion, Rhinoceros, Great Indian Bustard etc.
Ornithologist Arvind Mishra, from the Mandar Nature club, Bhagalpur is heading the expert team on peafowl survey following the directives of the Chief Minister. Nearly 65 to 70 peafowl breed and forage in an area spread over 1,000 acres in and around the village.
According to Mishra, Bihar does not figure in the list of favoured habitats of the national bird — Rajasthan, Gujarat Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra being the key States in this regard. Despite absence of large number of big trees where these birds prefer to roost, they are flourishing in the stretches of cultivable land and scrubs.
“The secret of conservation of these birds in such an imperfect habitat stems from the fact that the local communities consider themselves to be their custodians,” asserted Mishra.
The birds may be found perched atop roofs — or a flamboyant male may be seen strutting in the agricultural fields with his harem of 3-4 peahens.
“They have been found damaging their crops and vegetables, but the community members take these losses in their stride. For them, it is a big blow if the eggs of the bird are recovered from a neighbouring village,” he added.
“The sights of our mutual co-existence in the village are for all to see,” said Umesh and Guddu Singh from the village.
Villagers Mohan Singh and his family members have even made water available to these birds by digging ponds.
Asad Rahmani, Director Bombay Natural History Society has noted that at a time when the population of peafowl is on the decline such a unique example of community conservation could go in a long way for their protection.
Mishra, the State coordinator, Indian Bird Conservation Network, in his recommendations has asserted, “Conservation of these peafowl should not be transferred from the community to a Government agency since protection of nature and wildlife can only succeed with community participation”.
The villagers should not be deprived of their pride of conserving the peafowl in their own village. The Government should only facilitate the community and provide the necessary resources, he said.
|