Hunters to Protectors: The Adi Tribe's Relentless Pursuit To Save Arunachal Pradesh's Biodiversity

An astonishing story is unfolding in Gobuk village of Upper Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh—the Adi tribe, traditionally hunters, have turned protectors of their forests and biodiversity.Supported by Epum Sirum, a local NGO, and the Gobuk Welfare Society, the village has decided to enforce strict rules, banning hunting. Many former hunters, now “hunt” with cameras, taking wonderful images of birds, butterflies, moths, snakes, insects and anything else they can find, documenting their village’s incredible biodiversity.Into The Wild: Arunachal Pradesh's Top 5 Wildlife SanctuariesIt all began with a dialogue with the local community in early 2022. When I first met with the Gobuk team, and suggested that Titli Trust would be willing to support them to conserve their own biodiversity, many village members encouraged the idea.With funding from Royal Enfield, we proposed that local youth document their biodiversity. We equipped and trained them to use cameras, binoculars and field guide books. Soon, we realised that the Adi tribe already had a lot of traditional knowledge. They could recognise bird calls, and had local names for most bird species. Alongside, Titli Trust’s efforts, Green Hub Royal Enfield Responsible Tourism started a Green School at Gobuk, working with the local children to educate them about the need to conserve their forests and associated biodiversity.Biodiversity surveys have revealed more than 300 species of butterflies, 700 species of moths, 200 species of birds, and numerous species of odonates in the Siang landscape. The butterfly “specials” include the Dark Freak, False Tibetan Cupid, Blue-bordered Sergeant, Elusive Prince, Brown Gorgon, Yellow Gorgon, Margined Hedge Blue, and the Khaki Silverline.Offbeat Alert: Guide To The Sessa Orchid Sanctuary In Arunachal PradeshIn collaboration with the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru, we discovered ten moth species that had not been previously reported from India. This resulted in a scientific publication in an international peer-reviewed journal, the "Journal of Tropical Lepidoptera Research."“We did not realise that we have so many butterflies and moths in our village”, said Koni Miyu, Gobuk’s village headman.After consulting the Adis at Gobuk, we decided to initiate nature-linked ecotourism to incentivise conservation. The village council decided to set up simple village homestays for visitors, but there were few takers. “There are hardly any homestays in the entire Upper Siang district, so why should we invest in building homestays in Gobuk?" was the constant query. An exposure visit of 15 people, half of whom were women was organised to Chullyu village, Upper Subansiri district, to show what rural homestays could look like. With a great deal of trepidation, a few people agreed to set up homestays in the village. With accommodation, hopefully, being sorted out, we announced that the first Siang Biodiversity Meet would be held in May 2024. To my surprise, within three weeks of our announcement, we had 25 paying visitors signed up.In Gobuk, Upper siang district, Arunachal Pradesh, the Adi tribe has turned from hunting to conservationOrganising a meet for 25 people in a remote landscape for the first time is always a huge challenge. Accommodation, food, transportation, nature guides, nature trails; there are so many things to take care of. Numerous consultative meetings and capacity building sessions were conducted in the lead up to the event.To check the preparations, I reached Gobuk a few days before the meet. To my horror, the homestays were not ready. For three days, we met people, briefed them about the meet and urged them to be ready to play hosts, all the while hoping that we would not have egg on our faces.The Epum Sirum and Gobuk Welfare Society kept assuring us that all would be well. In one of the homestays, the local team built the roof, placed sanitary ware in the toilet and built beds for the homestay in 48 hours, working around the clock.Miraculously, on the morning of the meet, when visitors were to arrive, everything fell into place. The homestays were ready, the women’s self-help group, who were responsible for meals were prepared, and the popir (as butterflies are called in Adi language) were flitting around, waiting for the visitors to arrive.Twenty-five tourists spent a week in Gobuk and its surrounding areas, experiencing not only the area’s rich biodiversity, but also immersing themselves in the culture, heritage and cuisine of the Adi tribe. The area’s biodiversity enthralled, but the warmth of the Adis in Gobuk village touched the hearts of everyone.Taking care of 25 visitors for a week took a toll on the local team. On the last day, the shoulders of Okit Sitek, a key member of Epum Sirum, were drooping. That very evening, however, Sitek walked up to me with a huge smile. Showing me his phone, he said, “The Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister have tweeted about Gobuk village and the Siang Biodiversity Meet. All my tiredness has vanished; the entire village is filled with pride that our village’s conservation efforts have been recognised.”The local community at Gobuk know that these are early days in their efforts to conserve their biodiversity and promote nature-linked livelihoods, but their pioneering efforts in conservation are already acting as a beacon for other tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, and hopefully, such community-led conservation efforts will multiply across the state.Sanjay Sondhi is a Dehradun-based naturalist and the founder of Titli Trust, a not-for-profit nature conservation organisation