The Pakke Wildlife Sanctuary & Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh celebrated International Clouded Leopard Day on Tuesday with a series of awareness and capacity-building programmes. The event highlighted the importance of conserving the clouded leopard, a flagship species of the Pakke-Eaglenest-Sessa Landscape.
The programme was held at West Bank, Seijosa, and was attended by Eco-Development Committee members, school students, teachers, officials from the tiger reserve, frontline forest personnel, conservation partners, and local community representatives. Notable participants included Niraj Kakati from WWF-India, Dr Panjit Basumatary from the Wildlife Trust of India, and Bassang Waghe, honorary wildlife warden, Seijosa.
The celebration commenced with an inaugural session emphasizing the ecological significance of the clouded leopard as an apex arboreal predator and an indicator of healthy tropical and subtropical forest ecosystems. A wildlife quiz competition was also organised to promote environmental awareness and inspire young minds to appreciate the rich biodiversity of the Pakke Tiger Reserve.
A major highlight of the celebration was the inauguration of a two-day capacity-building and skill development workshop for members of the Eco-Development Committees. The workshop aims to strengthen community participation in conservation by equipping EDC members with practical skills in sustainable livelihood development, value addition to local products, enterprise development, product design, branding, and market linkage.
The workshop is being conducted by expert resource persons from the Zankala Foundation, a renowned organisation working across India to empower rural and indigenous communities through sustainable livelihood initiatives. Through hands-on training and interactive sessions, participants are being introduced to innovative approaches for developing eco-friendly products, improving product quality, and building financially sustainable community enterprises.
Divisional Forest Officer Dhawan Kumar Rawat emphasized that the long-term survival of the clouded leopard depends on collaborative conservation involving government agencies, conservation organisations, and local communities. He noted that conservation cannot be achieved through protection measures alone but must also be supported by improving the socioeconomic well-being of forest-dependent communities.
