Maharajganj, 15 April 2021: On a chilly day in January, Deep Narayan Sahni was walking along Hertodwa wetland in Maharajganj district of Eastern Uttar Pradesh when some suspicious activity caught his eye. Hertodwa wetland had of late become a preferred spot for poachers to target birds and aquatic species.

As an aware nature and wildlife lover, Sahni was sensitised to the conservation of land and wildlife in his area, especially since the Wildlife Trust of India intervened in 2020 and involved local communities to protect wetlands. To begin with, WTI helped the community form a general body, presided by the village Pradhan, to take action against any kind of illegal activity affecting wildlife.

So when Sahni ventured closer to the suspicious activity, he discovered a group of people hunting turtles. He informed other members of the committee and one of our staff members as well as Mr. Pushp Kumar the Divisional Forest Officer, Maharajganj.

Taking cognizance, the DFO Maharajganj formed a team to capture the turtle hunter. Early the following day, as soon as the turtle hunters ventured into the wetland, a joint raid was launched that led to a seizure of their catch but the offenders managed to escape. For his quick response, Sahni was honoured on World Wetlands Day in February.

Since then, Hartodwa wetland is consistently monitored by the committee, WTI, and the department of forests. WTI has also trained members from the newly formed Village Wetland Conservation and Management Committee and four months on, Hertodwa has not seen such poaching cases.

Such positive conservation action from rural India keeps our conservation optimism high. Hertodwa wetalnd is one of the target wetlands under WTI’s Wetland Securement Project with supports of World Land Trust.

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