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Thursday, February 14, 2013

A jungle safari to teach value of conservation

A jungle safari to teach value of conservation - Around 150 schoolchildren learn correlation between population & deforestation

Around 150 schoolchildren from Putimari went on a jungle safari today at Ultapani in Haltugaon forest division in Ripu-Chifrang forest.

The safari was organised by a local NGO, Jwngma Club-cum-Library, to raise awareness about conservation of forests and wildlife.

The idea was to educate the young generation on the benefits of forests and planting trees, said Hungkha Mushahary, president of Jwngma Club-cum- Library.

The organisers feel events like this will lead to more and more people getting involved in conservation and planting trees.

“Deforestation has emerged as one of the major concerns for the world community as significant environmental impacts are attributed to it. The plainly observed association between population increase and deforestation in most of the developing countries has deepened the concern on deforestation. An analysis on forest cover and population of Kokrajhar district over the period 1977-2012 revealed a strong inverse relationship between the two. During the period, the district lost 68 per cent of its forest cover that existed in the beginning of the period,” Mushahary said.

“Deforestation is taking place at an alarming rate. According to estimates by the Forest Area Change Model of the Food and Agricultural Organisation, the district will loose 88.5 per cent of its forest cover that was available in 2007 if deforestation continues at the recent rate and population growth rate remains more or less same. By the beginning of 2090, the population density is expected to be around 492 people per square km and forest cover will almost be gone,” he said.

“We hope everyone who participated in the jungle safari will work to conserve forests and will plant at least a tree to make our planet green,” he said.

“It was really encouraging for us to be part of the safari and know the real facts of deteriorating forest cover with our own eyes. The area is bestowed with such beautiful resources but it is really sad to see the degrading forest cover. It’s time we all think about conservation of the available forest cover and resources before it becomes too late,” said Geolang Narzary, a participant.

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