A n image of a green cover with thecomplementing swampy and marshy area with semi­aquatic habitats can only be a utopian imagination inthe context of Darjeeling today. “Areas of marsh, fen,peat land or water, whether natural or artificial,permanent or temporary, with water that is static orflowing, fresh, brackish or salt” (http://www.ramsar.org/)is of immense value to us, in terms of the social,environmental and cultural services they provide.

Senchel dhāp/sim­sār(Bog, marsh, large expanseof low­lying land ) in Darjeeling due to its altitude andstrategic location is an important site that has beensustaining the urban populace of Darjeeling supplyingwater to the entire town. This site, which is also one ofthe protected areas, plays an important role intrapping and retaining water in several marshlandsand moors that form the catchment that eventuallyfeed many perennial streams flowing into the threeman­made reservoirs meant to supply water to theentire urban populace of Darjeeling.

However, many of these wetlands havedisappeared or are degraded with devastatingimpacts on the springs that feed the reservoirs. “Therewere 30 springs feeding the lakes but now there are

only 22, others have dried up” caretaker of theReservoir in Senchal. According to him, there was atime when “the streams fed around 50­60,000 (189­227m3) gallons of water to the lakes, but now it barelysupplies 15,000 gallons (57m3) of water”. These effectshave been attributed to change in forest cover andclimatic variation in the region. Forests have been cutdown and there is an invasion of the open area bythe local bamboo species which makes regenerationof trees almost impossible. Changing rainfall patternsespecially long dry periods have impacted the forestconditions. According to the caretaker in 2017 therainfall was not adequate and many sources werediverted by people, so there is less water in Senchel.

Thus scarcity of water is a glaring reality in the Hillstoday in both rural and urban spaces. As much asclimatic variations contribute to the water situation,the area has had an impact due to anthropogenicinterference – rising human population, humaninduced forest fire, degradation of land, littering, thusleading to loss of recharge areas of these wetlands.

Commemorating the World Wetlands day andaligning with the theme, Wetlands for a SustainableUrban Future, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecologyand the Environment (ATREE), Darjeeling focused onbuilding awareness among eighteen students fromthree schools, between 7th to 10th standard along withthe Nature Club members from St. Robert’s HigherSecondary School. The students went on a field visit toSenchel catchment area to get a firsthandexperience of how a catchment works and why it isimportant to conserve our wetlands. The studentsobserved the environmental degradation that thewetlands are subject to in the Senchel area and alsodrafted a basic portfolio of the lake (vegetation,birds, insects, litter, pollution, human induceddisturbance, etc.), photographic observations ofbiodiversity in and around the wetland andsummarized the day through their presentations ­linking the issue of state of wetland to the future watersupply in urban Darjeeling.

­ Dr. Rinzi Lama (rinzi.lama@atree.org)

January ­ June, 2018

Quarterly newsletter of the ATREE Eastern Himalayas / Northeast Regional Office VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1

Eastern Himalaya

Scarcity of WaterA reality of the Hills

Nature Club member at the Senchel catchment area

T he purpose of this project is to study thepresence­absence of different wildlife in PhibsooReserved Forest through ATREE, NGO partner “GreenForest Conservation” based in Kachugaon, KokrajharDistrict (BTAD) of Assam. This rapid survey is sought tobe achieved by using a combination of CuddebackAttack, Moultrie D­55 Camera Traps. The wholeexercise was completed within 50 days. The areaswere surveyed for animal signs and records weredocumented using standard data sheet and GPS.

After sign survey, a single camera trap was placed ineach 2 sq km grid , in a total sampling area covering34 sq km. Locations were chosen within each grid tomaximize the probability of detection while keepingin mind accessibility and security for the cameras.The cameras were kept operational for 24 hours aday and checked at regular intervals. The interestingfinding is the first Photographic record of SpottedDeer (Axis axis) in Ripu­ Chirang Elephant Reserve,which comes under the eastern most range for thisspecies. Other important findings from the cameratraps were Leopard, Leopard Cat, Gaur, Elephant,Sambar, Barking deer etc. A detailed analysis of thedata will be done subsequently. We expect that thisrapid survey will help to create a meaningfulconservation intervention in this ecologically sensitiveregion.

­Dr. Dhritiman Das(dhritiz@gmail.com)

Villages around Kitam Bird Sanctuary and BarsayRhododendron Sanctuary in Sikkim have beenexperiencing intense crop depredation for the past20 years. Various attempts have been made tomitigate this problem which is adversely impactingthe livelihoods of these rural communities. As part ofunderstanding the drivers of this problem especiallyin the backdrop of climate and other changes weare trying to understand the coping mechanism ofthe farmers. One of the most popular methods ofmitigation is the construction of “live fences” aroundthe perimeter of agriculture land. A knowledge andexperience sharing visit was organised for farmersfrom 7 villages around these protected areas inSikkim to visit a village in the fringe area of SingalilaNational Park in the adjacent Darjeeling district. Theobjectives of the programme were i) to learn anddiscuss the current mitigation strategy adopted bythe community in Darjeeling district along with issues,challenges and potentials of bio fence; ii) tounderstand the dynamics of convergence amongvarious government departments for mitigation work.

Communities shared their experiences of theproblem, its impacts and drivers and the status ofagriculture in their villages. Farmers observed the LiveBio Fence constructed by the farmers in Darjeelingdistrict. This was done by convergence with twosectors ­Forest Department and the RuralDevelopment Department through its flagshipprogramme­Mahatma Gandhi National RuralEmployment Generation Scheme. ATREE wasresponsible for coordinating this convergenceprocess. Communities from Sikkim were determinedto form a group and initiate mitigation using theconvergence pathway as implemented by thevillage in Darjeeling.

­Vikram Pradhan (vikram.pradhan@atree.org)

Farmers Knowledge Exchange VisitSikkim to Darjeeling

Phibsoo: Camera trap monitoring

Camera Trap images (clockwise from top left):Indian Elephant (Elephas maximus), Leopard (Panthera

pardus) and Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis)

Participants during an interaction session in the field

Green Forest Conservation volunteer recording data in the field

A griculture planning and policy in West Bengal isnot always based on an in­depth understanding ofthe hill/mountain conditions, resources, environmentand the socio­cultural setting. For the farmingcommunity in the mountains, farming conditionshave been changing rapidly. These changes arehappening simultaneously with rapid environmental(climate and others) changes, economic changes,socio political and demographic changes includinga risk of disruption of rural culture and livelihoods. Inthe midst of such changes, mountain agriculture hasvery often than not been marginalized in the statepolicy thus a local level discussion on policyrecommendations was found to be essential.

The Assessment and Planning Workshop onClimate­Resilient Agriculture for Rural Livelihoodsecurity in Darjeeling Himalayas was organized byATREE on 13th April 2018, as part of the ManagingIndia’s forest and Bio­diversity for Human WellbeingProject (FBWB), project supported by USAID. Thisworkshop was organized by ATREE in collaborationwith the District Agriculture Department, WestBengal. The Deputy Director, Agriculture Departmentproactively mobilized the Agriculture Department fortheir participation and interaction with forty farmersfrom our project villages and outside.

The workshop focused on Agriculture practicesin the region ­assessing the current agriculturesituation and with the aim of developing futureprospectsfor mountain agriculture. ATREE has beenworking on agriculture issues in this landscape –fringe villages of Senchel Wildlife Sanctuary andSingalila National Park since 2014.

The deliberations for the workshop was basedon three registers – Ongoing issues in agriculture, thestrategies adopted so far to cope with rapidchanges and a critique on the Climate SmartAgriculture techniques adopted by the farmers.Discussions on these three aspects established thebase for future planning in agriculture. These sessionshighlighted various aspects­ from the Farmer’sperspective and also brought forth the problems ofState agriculture policies – which have sidelined theMountain agriculture issues.

The discussions highlighted the need for multiplelocal strategies in the region – with the need for

participation and co­operation of relevant local andstate bodies within the Agriculture Department andoutside which was outlined during the discussionsession. The issues discussed during this workshop willbe taken forward with the relevant stakeholdersandthe farmers to bring about the required change.

­ Dr. Rinzi Lama (rinzi.lama@atree.org)

T he state of Assam is an integral unit of theEastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot and the

climatic condition and wide variety in physicalfeatures in Assam have resulted in the sustenance ofwide ranging floral and faunal species. Despite thefact that the biodiversity of Assam is fairly welldocumented, the information primarily exists in peerreviewed journals, reports and PhD thesis which isdifficult to access and utilize. The documentation hasinvolved the scientific research community, but theparticipation of the general citizenry has not beenexplored to its full potential even though citizenscience initiatives to document biodiversity havebeen active in the state. Assam Biodiversity Portal isan initiative by ATREE that provides a platform for theparticipation of diverse stakeholders such as thegeneral public, planners, practitioners and natureenthusiasts in documenting, sharing and using thebiodiversity information of Assam.

As part of the campaign activities ATREEcollaborated with various colleges and universitiesacross 15 districts of Assam to organize ­ 26orientation events. These were targeted atacademicians, students and researchers. The keyobjectives of the events included:

• To popularise Assam Biodiversity Portal to makestudents and researchers register in ABP andupload information to populate the portal.

• To build the capacity of students and researcherson technology based tools like web basedbiodiversity portal in storing, sharing andretrieving biodiversity information.

Assam Biodiversity PortalOrientation Programs

Wrokshop participants during fileld sessions

Release of the "Climate Smart Agriculture and Crops Manual"

Climate­Resilient Agriculture for RuralLivelihood in Darjeeling Himalayas

Retrospect and Prospects

Project Outputs• Over 2,100 individuals from comprising of

academicians, biodiversity experts, studentsfrom colleges and universities and also natureenthusiasts participated in these events.

• Participants were trained on how to use the portal,both to upload their observations as well as toaccess and view biodiversity information.

• Increase in the number of participants registered inAssam Biodiversity Portal for uploadingbiodiversity information.

• Over 1,700 participants registered as users duringthese orientation programs.

­ Chandan Bhuyan (chandanbhuyan010@gmail.com)

A s part of the Himalayan Cleanup, ATREEorganized Cleanup in 20 sites in different

villages around Senchel Wildlife Sanctuary (SWS) andSingalila National Park (SNP). This pan Himalayacleanup drive, was anchored by IntegratedMountain Initiative (IMI)/Zero Waste Himalaya, across12 mountain states as an effort mainstream the issueof plastic pollution in policy discourses.

We mobilized various village basedorganizations (samaj), associations; self­help groups,and schools bringing together more than 300volunteers for conducting the cleanup. This wasfollowed by a waste audit in which waste wassegregated into 14 different categories (Fig 1). 39,460pieces of waste collected during the campaign.

A brand audit was conducted on four maincategories of the solid waste collected from thesevillages ­ PET Bottles, Multi­layered packaging,Tetrapak and all other branded Plastic items. A totalof 22,658 pieces of branded plastic and multilayeredwaste was collected from which the top 10manufacturers/brands were ranked according to thepercentage of waste collected to the number ofproducts per manufacturers. International brands ­Perfetti Van Melle Pvt. Ltd topped the list followed byHindustan Uniliver, Parle Agro and Pespsico India.

These results were presented at theInterpretation center (Forest Department),ManeyBhanjyang (SNP) on World Environment Day tothe community members and school children who

participated in the cleanup. As a culmination of thecleanup some of the waste collected was convertedinto a roadside wall art installation by local artists andvolunteers.

Alongside, training on bio­degradable wastemanagement through vermicomposting wasconducted by Mr. Tshering Dorjee Bhutia in CamelliaSchool , Darjeeling. As a result the school hasinstalled a vermicompost unit in the school andabolished the sale and use of single use plastic andmultilayered items within the school premises.

Waste is a critical issue in all the mountain areasespecially because there is an effective wastemanagement systems in the region. Wastegenerated is simply rolled down the mountain sidesinto river and water systems or burnt. These effortswere initiated to combat plastic pollution in theregion. At the national level, the Himalayan Cleanuphas been able to bring together stakeholders from allacross the IHR to communicate about the seriousnessof plastic waste. Policies for mountains have toincorporate this to eventually stop the usage of singleuse plastic and phase out multilayered plastic. Thereis a need to establish an extended producerresponsibility to provide sustainable alternatives tomultilayered plastics, PET and tetrapack. Tourism anddefense, which form the major sector in the regionmust be integrated into waste management systemsand special resource is needed to support the ideaof beating plastic pollution in a region which alreadyhas challenges with respect to geography andconnectivity. To achieve this at a landscape level,collective and individual responsibility is required­“refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle”.

­Pasang Lepcha (passang.lepcha@atree.org)

Beat Plastic PollutionHimalayan Cleanup

Volunteers segregating waste for the audit

A rapid assessment of wild edibles was done aspart of my summer internship with ATREE. Wild ediblesin the mountains and hills are known to contribute tofood security, nutrition and sustainable livelihoods oflocal communities in the rural as well as urban areasof Darjeeling. I assessed the availability of wildedibles from the hawkers and vegetable sellers inDarjeeling town. I divided the town into three parts­upper, middle and lower parts based on localities. 70sellers of wild edibles were interviewed, and theproducts currently found in the prevailing season(monsoon) were recorded. The sellers were furtherdivided into three types ­ vendors, street hawkersand weekly hawkers.

The assessment showed that wild edibles weresupplied by communities from the surrounding ruralareas of Darjeeling. 28 wild edibles were recordedduring the surveys. Most of these were used asvegetables by the urban communities of Darjeeling.Many of the vendors informed me about the declinein the quantity of wild edibles that are supplied to theshops from the rural areas and some also informedme that 3 wild edible species are no longer availablein the market.

Most of the forest areas surrounding Darjeelingtown are either protected areas or reserve forestsand the collection of these wild edibles areprohibited. However an appropriate policyframework is necessary for promoting sustainable useof these products. I realised how important theseproducts were while doing the survey as they havecultural importance, nutritional benefits, and theireconomic value has the potential to reduce poverty.The products have reduced over the years, and willcontinue to do so unless action is taken forsustainable use of these products.

­ Pratik Dahal(pratikdahal28@gmail.com)Intern at ATREE,

M.A. Natural Resource and GovernanceTata Institute of Social Sciences, off campus

Hyderabad

A one day national workshop was organized byATREE, IORA Ecological Solution and Centre for Youth& Social Development (CYSD) in New Delhi on the7th of May under the USAID’s Innovations for ForestResources Management (InFoRM) program. Threepriority areas were identified as a part of this InFoRMprogram ­ strengthening systems for forest resourcemanagement by understanding sustainableharvesting levels of NTFP’s and fuelwood, supportinginnovations for fuelwood management andincreasing income of forest dependent communities.The key objective of the workshop was todisseminate project insights, experiences andlearnings to an array of stakeholders and identify andencourage discussions on strategies for futurescaling­up.

A key highlight of the workshop was a specialsession by community representatives from all projectlandscapes on community perception onconservation and livelihood enhancement. Mr.Maitiraj Rai of Srikhola Mahadevthan shared hisexperience of ATREE’s intervention in the region ­training on ICS, Bee­Keeping, various agriculturaltrainings which has had an impact in his life and thevillages in Darjeeling. He emphasized on continuingthe work in forest resource conservation activitieseven after the completion of this InFoRM program.

The workshop provided a holistic view of theinnovations in conservation work carried out underthe InFoRM program by the organizers.

­Poonam Rai (poonam.rai@atree.org)

M anas National Park is surrounded by denselypopulated villages in the southern boundary.

Yet very few students or even community membersfrom these villages have visited the park for its richfaunal and floral diversity or experienced thehabitats and ecosystems found in the Park. Touristsfrom all over Assam, India and even overseas visit theNational Park to enjoy the rich biodiversity anddiverse habitats found in the Park. In order toconserve this natural heritage, the young peoplewho represent the next generation of stakeholders

USAID meeting in DelhiWild edibles in Darjeeling town

A vendor in Chowk Bazaar, Darjeeling

International Day for BiologicalDiversity, 2018 at Manas National Park

need to value what Manas National Park represents.With this in mind ATREE in collaboration with Manas ParkAuthority, Swmkwr Mittinga Onsai Afat and ManasDevelopment and Jeep Safari Association observedthe International Day for Biological Diversity (22nd May)2018 at Bansbari Range, Manas National Park. 45students and 8 teachers from 8 different schools, 8 localnature guides and conservation volunteers from localorganisations participated in this event. The studentswere taken on a 22km Jeep Safari inside the park.Various species of mammals, birds, butterflies, spidersand plants were observed and or identified by theparticipants under the guidance of local nature guidesand resource persons. Some of the interesting sightingswere:

Mammals: Asian Elephant, Greater One­HornedRhinoceros, Wild Water Buffalo, Capped Langurs, BlackGiant Squirrel;

Birds: Crested Serpent Eagle, Green Bellied Malkoha,Lesser Yellownape Woodpecker, White­rumpedShama, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill, Indianparadise flycatcher, Red Jungle Fowl, CommonHoopoe;

Butterflies: Common Imperial butterfly, Tawny Rajah,Constable, Three Yellow.

Various resource persons also talked to thestudents about the biodiversity of Manas NationalPark, the threats faced by the Park and the measuresthat need to be taken to conserve this naturalheritage.

­Brojo Kumar Basumatary(brojo.basumatiary@atree.org)

1 Ms. Sulochana Thapa joined the Regional Officeas a Project Associate for the Rain Forest

Alliance Project.

2 Aditya Pradhan and Thangsuanlian Naulakjoined the Regional Office as Junior Research

Fellows for the NMHS supported project “Keyecosystem services and biodiversity components insocio­ecological landscapes of Darjeeling ­ SikkimHimalaya: Deriving management & policy inputs anddeveloping mountain biodiversity information systemfrom National Mission On Himalayan Studies.

1 In congruity with the project timeline and theproject partners, a launch event for Assam

Biodiversity Portal (ABP) was organized incollaboration with the APFBCS/Assam StateBiodiversity Board to launch the portal and share theoutputs of the 12 month project with the participants.The Assam Biodiversity Portal along was formallylaunched by Assam Minister for Environment & Forest,Shri Parimal Suklabaidya along with the other notabledignitaries which included Additional ChiefSecretary, Environment & Forest Shri Alok Kumar,PCCF Assam N K Vasu and eminent biologist Dr P CBhattacharjee

2 A project inception meeting and stakeholderconsultations for the project: ‘Key ecosystem

services and biodiversity components in socio­ecological landscapes of Darjeeling ­ SikkimHimalaya: deriving management & policy inputs anddeveloping mountain biodiversity information system’was organised on 4th July 2018 at the CentralHeritage Hotel (Fortune), Darjeeling by ATREE incollaboration with Sikkim University. The keyobjectives for the workshop were­ i) to communicatewith relevant stakeholders from different sectorsabout the objectives and outputs of the project; ii) toidentify partners among stakeholders who can beactive supporters/participants in the Project; and iii)to receive feedback/insights on the projectimplementation especially with regards to policy.Thirty­six participants representing local differentuniversities, colleges, government departments,NGOs together with researchers and students werepresent in the meeting.

3 A closing meeting for the project­ “IntegratedApproaches to enhance livelihoods

sustainability of communities in the fringe areas ofManas Tiger Reserve (MTR), Assam” was organized inMusa Resort, Barengabari, Assam on 29th June 2018.Major outputs of the 4­year project were presentedby the Field Coordinator. Project beneficiaries,community leaders, Eco­development Committeemembers, officials from Manas Tiger Project andpartner NGOs participated in the meeting.

ATREE's mission is to promote socially just environmental conservation and sustainable development bygenerating rigorous interdisciplinary knowledge that engages actively with academia, policy makers, practitioners,

activists, students and wider public audiences. ATREE’s Northeast/Eastern Himalayas Office has a directpresence in the Darjeeling and Sikkim Himalayas and Assam, and works with a range of local partners in the

other states of north east India.

Dr. Sarala KhalingRegional Director

sarala.khaling@atree.org

Rohit Georgerohit.george@atree.org

FFoorr mmoorree iinnffoorrmmaattiioonn ccoonnttaacctt

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