Y Nuklu Phom: Championing Community Conservation in Nagaland
51 years old
Yaongyimchen Village, Longleng Block, Longleng District, Nagaland
“When I was very young, my grandfather would tell us about a bird that would come from a far-off land,” recollects Nuklu Phom, a theologian and environmentalist from Yaongyimchen village in Nagaland’s Longleng district. “Its local name means ‘bird that comes across the water, from a far-off land.’”
It’s an accurate name for the Amur Falcon (Falcoamurensis), a small bird of prey. It undertakes a remarkable 22,000-kilometre migration every year, flying from China and Siberia onward to Northeast India, where Nagaland provides a necessary stopover.
The birds roost here in massive numbers before the next leg of their journey: a marathon flight over the Indian Ocean to Africa, a non-stop journey lasting up to three
days and covering more than 3,000 kilometres over the sea. In 2013, it came to light that an estimated 1.2 to 1.4lakh Amur Falcons were being hunted and killed annually in Nagaland.
Today, the state is a proud success story for Amur Falcon protection: in the peak season, Nuklu estimates, the state sees about 1.6 million birds visiting. It was a challenging transformation to undertake, but rapid commuity mobilisation and a positive approach helped. The offered the hunters camera traps, to track the motion of
the birds. “We said, earlier you shot with guns. But now we will shoot with cameras and binoculars.”
When a community decides to conserve its forests, it not only benefits the locals but also significantly contributes to global climate adaptation efforts.
Fusing the old with the new, this approach is a testament to Nuklu’s approach for tackling urgent economic, social, and environmental issues. “Our ancestors were conservationists,” Nuklu asserts. “They knew how much to take, what to take, and what to preserve.” Central to Nuklu’s work is a commoning of the forests, tied in with robust community engagement and a return to the ethos of traditional governance structures.
One illustration is his work around Community Conserved Areas (CCAs). In Nagaland, where forests are predominantly community-owned, Nuklu has facilitated the
establishment of over 400 CCAs. The Yaongyimchen Community Biodiversity Conserved Area, for example, is 10 sq km of forest demarcated for wildlife. He explains, “this landscape conservation equally contributes to the global family,” seeing it as a local action in response to the global challenge of climate change.
Nuklu’s work extends beyond forest conservation. He has introduced integrated farming techniques to reduce dependence on traditional slash-and-burn agriculture.
“We have incorporated new methods of agriculture... Today we have terrace farming, fishery and piggeries. That’s how people are now using alternative methods.”
Recognising the interconnectedness of environmental and social issues, Nuklu developed the concept of a “Biodiversity Peace Corridor.” He explains, “Conflicting
communities are brought together, and they then designate a specific forest patch as a Community Conserved Area.” At present a network of 16 villages across 4 districts, the concept involves forest regeneration through the adoption of sustainable, non-extractive land management practices, including stopping of slash-and-burn cultivation. Additionally, locals will be trained in sustainable land-use practices; about 4,000 households are anticipated to benefit. In total, the Corridor is intended to support both ecological diversity and local economies.
Nuklu’s efforts gained international recognition with the Whitley Award (2021), known as the “Green Oscars.” The Award, presented to conservation leaders in the Global South by the UK-based Whitley Fund for Nature, includes project funding over one year, along with training. “Such accolades give us the courage to talk to people about the collaboration and the larger concerns that we all should work together to address,” he reflects.
Looking ahead, Nuklu plans to regenerate abandoned agricultural lands and plant hundreds of thousands of trees annually, starting 2024. His long-term vision involves creating a sustainable model where communities, wildlife, and forests coexist harmoniously. He believes traditional forms of commoning can be effectively integrated with modern conservation strategies, providing a promising model for sustainable development in indigenous communities. As he puts it, “Unless this coexistence happens, we cannot sustain.” Listen:
Comments