WTI team interacting with villagers

Babagail, November 30, 2015: WTI conducted Focused Group Discussions (FGDs), stakeholder analysis and Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRAs) for two villages — Hirpura near Hirpura Wildlife Sanctuary and Babagail in Limber Wildlife Sanctuary near Kazinag National Park in Jammu and Kashmir. The PRA and FGD were conducted in these villages from November28-29 to prepare micro-plans to reduce community dependence on forests.

Hirpura is at the entry of Hirpura WLS and is well connected with the nearest town of Shopian. The residents are heavily dependent on the forest for firewood. Villagers also indulge in livestock grazing, mushroom foraging, fishing and picking and rocks for construction of houses putting further pressure on the natural resources.

During the course of FGDs and PRAs, villagers from Hirpura discussed about the poor quality of education in the area due to lack of schools, qualified teachers and infrastructure like playground and laboratories. They also raised the issue of irregular power supply, clean drinking water, livestock predation and crop raiding by wild animals. They mentioned the benefits of fuel wood and medicinal plants from the forests. Issues pertaining to livelihood were also discussed and villagers suggested agriculture and eco-tourism as possible alternatives.

Villagers during Participatory Rural Appraisal in Babagail

The people in Babagail village were concerned about the poor infrastructure in the area i.e. lack of pucca roads, health centre and mobile network. They too raised the issue of large scale crop destruction and livestock killing by wild animals. Unemployment was another important issue discussed in great detail and eco-tourism was the only point that everybody agreed upon.

“To maintain a harmonious relation between humans and wildlife, certain issues raised by locals need to be addressed. These include providing livelihood options, compensation for loss of crops and livestock, sanitation, alternative energy and education especially for women. During our visit, we noticed that there is a vast potential for eco-tourism. Locals and Forest Department claimed that they are willing to contribute their bit in making tourism a viable livelihood option,” said Indu Kumari, Sociologist, WTI.