Hunting by Tribal Communities in Arunachal Pradesh, Northeast India : Implications for Wildlife Conservation

Project Animal(s) : Mammals,birds and reptiles
Project Category : Birds, Mammals, Reptiles
Project Region : Asia
Project Type : Research
Project URL : https://www.rufford.org/files/43.07.05%20Technical%20Report.pdf
Project is timebound? : Yes

Project Start Date : November 28, 2005

Arunachal Pradesh in north-east India is located in the Eastern Himalayan global biodiversity hotspot. The region is rich in wildlife and includes several fascinating, rare or little-known species. Arunachal Pradesh is also home to 26 tribes who are primarily agriculturalists and hunter-gatherers, mainly dependent on shifting cultivation. Hunting is regarded as a serious threat to wildlife throughout Arunachal Pradesh.

Wildlife is hunted for food, supplementary income, sport, medicine, rituals, and also to protect cattle and crops. Certain species are hunted for lucrative body parts. Although hunting is widespread in Arunachal Pradesh, there is a lack of understanding of its extent, scale, ecological impacts, and its socio-cultural reasons. In the last decade, there is an increase in human populations accompanied by rapid changes in lifestyle and economies of the tribal communities.

The study aims to generate a strong scientific baseline on the extent of hunting, assess the motivations for hunting, off-take rates and impacts of hunting by tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh. Attempts will be made to understand changes in hunting patterns and practice through a comparison across three generations of people. The results of this study would lead to the development of appropriate locale-specific conservation strategies to address this important conservation issue in Arunachal Pradesh.

Project Agency : Nature Conservation Foundation

Project Researcher : Ambika Aiyadurai

Project Researcher Contact : ambika@ncf-india.org

Additional Information :

Detailed report-https://www.rufford.org/files/43.07.05%20Technical%20Report.pdf