SSB protectors for Singalila forest species - WWF trains border guards to conserve park & keep away smugglers

Siliguri, April 30: The forest department is trying to bring in the Sashastra Seema Bal to check the smuggling of rare medicinal plants from the Singalila National Park to Nepal.

The 78.6sqkm park is on the Indo-Nepal border in Darjeeling district.

Singalila, at an altitude of 7,000ft, is a storehouse of rare medicinal plants that have great demand both in the national and international markets.

“Considering the proximity of the park to Nepal, smuggling of medicinal plants from Singalila was prominent even a few years back,” said Sumita Ghatak, divisional forest officer, wildlife-I.

According to her, the practice has been checked in recent times.

“But I cannot say that it has completely stopped. The SSB has eight camps inside the park and they are engaged in round-the-clock patrolling on the border. We thought it was wise to take their help in monitoring the park, along with our staff,” said Ghatak.

If guards spot any irregular movements inside the park they can immediately inform the foresters.

According to Ghatak, the SSB has better resources in terms of manpower and equipment than the foresters who are in charge of the park. “They can keep tabs on the park in a better way,” she said.

With Sikkim in the north and Nepal in the west, the park is known for housing the red panda, which was reintroduced successfully from Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological Park in Darjeeling in 2004. The park is also home to the flying squirrel, leopard cat, yellow-throated marten, clouded leopard and takin.

The foresters had also approached the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to conduct training camps for the border guards.

Sanjeeb Pradhan, a senior project officer of WWF-India, recently visited 12 SSB camps in and around the park and has briefed the border guards on conservation of flora and fauna and vulnerability of the park owing to its proximity to Nepal.

“The SSB patrols the entire 105km stretch around the park from Mirik-Chabbesay to Phalut. They have better professional excellence and are better equipped than the foresters with improved modes of communication. This will help stop smuggling of medicinal plants to Nepal,” said Pradhan. According to him, training-cum-awareness sessions on controlling wildlife crime and illegal smuggling along the border were being organised for the SSB since April 15. At the camps, the border guards were sensitised about their role and responsibility in conserving the park. They were also made aware about the possible methods of smuggling herbs, major species that are found in the park and the main areas from where they are smuggled,” said Pradhan.

Some of the rare medicinal plants that fetch high prices in international market and are found in Singalila are chirata (Swertia chirayita), monkshood (Aconitum napellus), jatamansi (Nardostachys jatamansi) and kutki (Picrorhiza kurroa).

The jawans were given a biodiversity monitoring field notebook. “They can put down any information that they find in it. After a couple of months, we will collate and analyse the data,” the DFO said.

Source: The Telegraph