Manas National Park, Assam, February 1, 2018: Anti-poaching camps are the fundamental units of wildlife protection in Protected Areas. Frontline forest staff who man these camps face several challenges, battling extreme terrain and adverse climatic conditions during their daily patrols, and braving life-threatening encounters with wild animals, poachers and in some areas even armed insurgents.

It was found that the Anti-poaching Camps located in sensitive areas within Manas National Park, including First Addition areas, did not have access to first-aid equipment. Through IFAW-WTI’s Greater Manas Conservation Fund, 66 first-aid kits and 20 anti-venom vials were handed over last month to HK Sarma, the Field Director of Manas National Park. The kits contain essential medication to treat trauma injuries in the field; the anti-venom vials are important given the relatively high incidence of snake bite in the landscape.

IFAW-WTI handed over 66 first-aid kits and 20 anti-venom vials for Anti-poaching Camps in Manas National Park last month

On January 13, Field Director HK Sarma invited Dr Prabhat Basumadary of the Barpeta Road Primary Health Centre to brief frontline staff, in Assamese, about the first-aid kits and the proper use of the medicines provided. An Assamese translation sheet with a list of medicines and their use was also provided in each kit.

The Field Director and Dr Basumadary distributed the first-aid kits to forest staff in the presence of Babul Brahma, In-Charge, Basbari Range and the IFAW-WTI team. “I am delighted to have received these first-aid kits from IFAW-WTI at such short notice”, the Field Director said. “Frontline staff staying in the park can now do their duty without worrying about basic healthcare issues”.