The Loktak fishing community of Champu Khangpok Floating Island Village dwelling upon makeshift shelter huts ‘Phumshang’ built on floating biomass ‘Phumdi’ in Loktak Lake was honoured by Guwahati-based Balipara Foundation for contributing significantly to lake and biodiversity conservation efforts during the past decade and more.
In an awards presentation function held at the Manas Lawn of Vivanta By Taj hotel in uptown Guwahati on November 27 evening last, Champu Khangpok resident Moirangthem Thoibi Devi, received the prestigious award on behalf of the fishers’ union. The function was part of the 12th Eastern Himalayan Naturenomics Forum on the theme “The Future of the Third Pole and Himsagar (Eastern Himalaya)” .
Appreciating the Loktak fishers’ union in contributing positively to the preservation and sustaining of the unique ecosystem of Loktak Lake in Manipur, the Foundation’s communique said: “Your dedication to protecting this vital resource, which supports thousands of people and shelters a diverse array of flora and fauna, is truly remarkable” .
This reflects upon the Foundation’s stated thrust that the Awards honour “the steadfast dedication of the Eastern Himalayan Nature Heroes who have endured relentless monsoons, frigid winters, and rugged landscapes to safeguard the diverse ecosystems of the Eastern Himalaya” .
Receiving the Award on behalf of Allafum, Moirangthem Thoibi, while expressing gratitude to the Foundation for honouring the union, assured that the Loktak fishers will continue to work for the conservation of the lake which feeds and nourishes thousands of fisher families entirely dependent on the lake’s resources for their living and sustenance.
Reacting to honouring of the Loktak fishing community, Allafum secretary Oinam Rajen pledged that the fishers will strive to contribute in their best ability in protecting the biological diversity of the lake and preserving it for the generations to come.
It may be recalled that the Loktak fishers’ union, formed in 2011, has been engaging actively in the promotion of awareness on the conservation of the lake ecosystem and the diverse biological diversity it shpports with the primary objective of revitalizing the lake and rewilding the floral and faunal diversity much of which are critically vital in sustaining the ecology of the lake and the livelihoods of the local fishing community.
Suffering extensively from various human-induced influences, specifically after the fairly controversial Ithai Barrage for the 105 megawatt capacity Loktak hydroelectric power project was commissioned in 1983, whereby resulting in rapid siltation of the lake bed, decline in native fish and edible aquatic plant and insect populations during these past five decades, the Loktak fishers had since strove to contribute their mite in regenerating the aquatic flora to achieve sustainable livelihoods of the fishing community.
In the present context, around 140 fishing families live in Champu Khangpok Floating Island Village which remarkably is possibly the only natural floating island village in the entire world.
There are other floating villages in few pockets around the world, but most of them are rooted in fixed places and built on stilts. The peculiarity and the specialty of Champu Khangpok is that the shelter huts are built on living and free floating biomass, rarely seen in the other parts of the globe.
The Loktak fishers’ union observes all important environment and biodiversity related events in the calendar year, such as, the World Wetlands Day, World Earth Day, International Rivers Day, World Fisheries Day, World Biodiversity Day, and the World Migratory Birds Day without break during this decade commencing from its formation in 2011.The observance events seek to create local people’s awareness on the importance of conservation of the diverse biodiversity that Loktak supports on the one hand, while stressing the significance of Loktak Lake which is one of the 85 Ramsar sites in India and the fourth largest inland freshwater lakes in the country by size.
The flagship species of Loktak is unmistakably Manipur’s State Animal – the Sangai, the Brow-antlered Deer (Rucervus eldii eldii) in its habitat at Keibul Lamjao National Park, and the thousands of long-distance flying migratory waterbirds which visit the lake every winter from as far as Europe, Central Asia and East Asia.
Balipara Foundation’s initiation of the program focuses particularly in recognizing the ‘importance of successful conservation and sustainable livelihoods, and thereto creating grassroots solutions to rewild the Eastern Himalayas and empower local communities as stewards of their natural assets’.
The Balipara Foundation Awards have made significant contributions to conservation efforts in the Eastern Himalayas. The Foundation has so far published around 2484 publications with the purpose to share knowledge and increase awareness on conservation issues in the Eastern Himalayas.
Since its inception in 2013, the awards have recognised and supported 154 Earth Heroes who have worked tirelessly to preserve biodiversity in the Eastern Himalayan region. The efforts of the awardees have been crucial in discovering, conserving, and documenting over 4060 species of plants and animals, the Foundation informed.
Professor Waikhom Vishwanath, retired professor of the Department of Life Sciences, Manipur University, received the Balipara Foundation’s Lifetime Service Award on the occasion. Prof Vishwanath had contributed to scientific study and discovery of numerous fish species endemic to Manipur and new to science. The award function was also attended by Allafum secretary Oinam Rajen, member Ashem Mani, and IUCN CEESP member and Allafum consulting advisor Salam Rajesh.