Nation's first community reserve biosphere comes up in Arunachal Pradesh

Simong Village, Upper Siang District, (Arunachal Pradesh), Sep.7 : Called the 'Land of the Rising Sun' Arunachal Pradesh is known for its rich bio-diversity and natural beauty. And, to conserve nature's gifts, the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh has taken an initiative to create a community biosphere reserve here.

Claimed to be first of its kind in India, this community biosphere aims to preserve the tribe's pristine environment and promote tourism in the State.

The initiative of the Adi tribe of Simong village has attracted Future Generation, an international NGO to assist them in creating a Community Biosphere Reserve.

Nalong Mize, a Board member of the Future Generations Arunachal, said: "Definitely, if eco tourism is there and if it is flourishing, there will be employment generation, the youth and everybody in meaningful activities which means that they will not deviate from other harmful detrimental activities."

Omak Apang, a member of the Future Generations, said: "We have to get together and be ready for it. Get the people work together and get them self-employed and then request them to come and invest in Arunachal Pradesh. Otherwise our people have got entrepreneurial skills and they are enterprising too, so we have to explore all this business opportunities."

Community Biosphere Reserve is a unique initiative as it is for the first time a tribal community in the country has taken such a step.

The aim of the Adi tribe is not only to conserve their environment and traditions through voluntary community action but also to tackle the problem of unemployment by promoting tourism in the region.

Pamula, a resident, said: "If the Centre promotes tourism here, problems related to unemployment could be solved."

Arunachal Pradesh is known not only for its rich bio diversity but as a centre of Buddhism as well. The 400-year-old Buddhist monastery in Tawang is thronged by hundreds of Buddhist followers and tourists from across the world.

The untapped remoteness of Arunachal Pradesh makes it one of the best adventure sports destinations in the country, with the mighty Bhramputra and its tributaries- Lohit and Subansari offering river-rafting expeditions.

Located on the strategically important Indo- China border, Arunachal Pradesh is home to more than five hundred different varieties of flora and fauna and has a huge potential to become a major tourist destination in northeast India. By Kaikho Paphro

ANI