Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

Hunting Vs. Conservation of the Amur Falcon: Livelihood Struggles in Nagaland India

Neito U Mero, Prajna Paramita Mishra

For conservation project to be successful community participation plays a pivotal role. In this study, it is reflected in the community effort to conserve the Amur falcon in Pangti, Nagaland, India. However, the costs of conservation can also be quite high especially for economically marginalized rural communities. Prior to the conservation drive the high seasonal availability of the migratory bird had made its hunting a source of yearly income for the villagers of Pangti who had lost their fertile lands to submersion caused by the building of the Doyang dam. However, the mass hunting of the bird soon attracted adverse publicity resulting in a global outcry and the launch of a conservation movement which proved to be a success in fact, Pangti came to be popularly tagged by the media as one where ‘hunters-turned-conservationists’ lived. However, a section of the villagers also lost a good source of income as they had substituted bird hunting for farming, and were now bereft of livelihood, having already withdrawn from farming after the building of the dam. The promise of earning from eco-tourism was also belied. Today, those villagers struggle for their livelihoods, rendering the success of the conservation project lopsided.

Published Date: 2022-07-06; Received Date: 2022-06-06