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ThursDAY • December 24 • 2015
DIMAPUR • Vol. X • Issue 350 • 12 PAGes • 4
T H e
ESTD. 2005
P o W e R
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T R u T H
Christmas is the day that holds all time together — Alexander Smith Some heed to Pope Francis’s call to succour refugees, others look away PAGe 09
National Anganwadi Workers award conferred PAGe 02
Bryant leads Lakers past Nuggets PAGE 12
tHe DWinDlinG forest coVer NSCN (IM) affirms position Morung Express News Dimapur | December 23
As the role of tropical forests, or what’s left of it, becomes more crucial in the reduction of atmospheric carbon, a fresh report from the India State of Forest Report 2015 on the decrease of 628 sq km forest cover in the North East region of India is more than a cause for worry. According to the report there has been a net decline of 628 sq km in the forest cover since 2013 in the North East. The loss is more than the total area of Mumbai city. This alarming report released by the Environment and Forest Minister Prakash Javadekar comes at a time when nearly 200 nations across the world approved a first-of-its-kind universal agreement to wean Earth off fossil fuels and slow global warming at the recently held Paris Climate Change conference. Dangerous trend According to current assessment, the total forest cover in the North East is 171,964 sq km, which is 65.59 per cent of its total geographical area, in comparison to the national forest cover of 21.34 per cent. Very dense, moderately dense and open forest cover constitutes 14.81 per cent, 43.85 per cent and 41.34 per cent, respectively, the report said. The main reason for this decrease is attributed to the biotic pressure and shifting cultivation in the region. Among the NE States, Mizoram has recorded the highest decrease in forest of 307 sq km, followed by Nagaland (– 78 sq km), Arunachal Pradesh (–73 sq km), Tripura (– 55 sq km),
reflections
By Sandemo Ngullie
India State of Forest Report 2015 reveals woodlands of the North East region has decreased by 628 sq km – more than the size of Mumbai city – in a span of 2 years
Trucks loaded with timber on their way to Dimapur from Peren district of Nagaland. A report from the India State of Forest reveals that there has been a net decline of 628 sq km in the forest cover since 2013 in the North East. (Morung File Photo)
while Sikkim recorded a forest cover loss of 1 sq km. On the other hand, nationwide, the forest cover has increased by 3,775 sq km as compared to 2013 assessment, the report said. Why NE region matters A recent study published in the journal - Nature Climate Change - said tropical forests can be the bridge to this transition by causing uptake of atmospheric carbon, provided, astute forest management combined with fossil fuel use reduction are effected in a speedy manner. The study is especially significant because forest management can be much more easily and quickly implemented than development of alternate renewable energy technologies and would account for much of the reduction in atmospheric carbon until reliable and efficient renewable energy technologies are put in place.
The forest of North East region is known around the world for their rich biodiversity and dramatic scenery. It has been identified as one of the 18 biodiversity hot spots of the world. The region is broadly classified as six major forest types: Tropical moist deciduous forest, tropical semi evergreen, tropical wet evergreen, subtropical, temperature and Alpine. Largely closed to the outside world for the last fifty years, in recent decades, deforestation and watershed deterioration has progressed rapidly due to land clearing by migrants and local people and high timber demand from Bangladesh and urban centers in India. Illegal logging and forest clearing is made easier where tenurial rights to forest are weak and unclear. According to a paper on the ‘Forest sector review of North East India,’ the watersheds of the region are
critical catchment that regulates hydrological flows to some of the world’s most densely populated agricultural land and cities, including nearly 250 million people in Bangladesh and eastern India. An intensive scientific study by India’s North East Climate Change Adaptation Programme (NECCAP) in 2012 confirmed that the region is suffering from the impacts of climate change and the impact on people, fields and livestock is devastating and set to get worse. Due to its unique location and topography, the study found the region has distinct precipitation and drainage patterns. From March to May, thunderstorms contribute about 20 % of annual rainfall. From June to September, monsoon rains supply another 70 %. The monsoon season is marked by frequent floods, as melting Himalayan snow and tor-
rential rains feed the Brahmaputra River. Because of climate change, moreover, rainfall is becoming more unpredictable and erratic, it stated. Adaptation measures The study also provided adaptation measures depending on specific circumstance and varying significantly from state to state and district to district: • In Assam, the main focus is on flood protection in the plains. Moreover, climate change necessitates preventing erosion and improving water-resources management in higher altitudes. • Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram are higher elevated, and their emphasis is on improving the prevailing agricultural practice. This is a shifting cultivation system called “jhum”, according to which plots are used for a while but then abandoned again so they can recover. Another focus will be on conservation of community forests with high biodiversity. • In Sikkim, the main emphasis will be on the prevention of erosion and the protection and development of springs. Reduced rainfall is making it harder to provide households with safe drinking water, at least in valleys in the shadow of the monsoon. More than ever, the India State of Forest Report 2015 on the declining forest cover is an earnest reminder on the urgent need for actions that promote the conservation and sustainable use of the region’s endangered forest and watersheds.
on Naga Political Issue Says that it “is bound to go for a kind of solution, which is transitional to the final goal” DIMAPUR, DECEMBER 23 (MExN): The NSCN (IM) today declared that “this is the era of the Nagas the good Lord has given...Come one and all. We welcome you all. Together we will build our nation.” A press note from the Joint Council of the NSCN (IM), issued through the MIP affirmed its position with regard to the invitation extended for a unified approach to the Naga solution issued by Chairman Isak Chishi Swu. It recalled Swu’s appeal to all people to “forgive our (NSCN) past mistakes, (as) we have also forgiven their past mistakes, big or small.” It asserted that the Framework Agreement is “based on the uniqueness of Naga history, which means Nagas are a free people and they have never been a part of Union of India or Burma or any other power either by conquest or consent.” It further stated: “both parties agreed that sovereignty, according to universal principle of democracy, lies with the people, not government or monarch. And that sovereignty of Nagas lies with Naga people and sovereignty of India lies with Indian people.” However, it added that both parties agreed to share sovereign power for an enduring and peaceful co-existence. The Agreement also says that land and its resources totally belong to Nagas, it stated. It further said that Nagas will have right to exercise sovereign power over their territories. While stressing that “our identity needs to be recognized,” the NSCN (IM) cautioned: “otherwise we will always be exposed to the danger of assimilation, aggression and annexation by any states.” The Government of India, it said, has now recognized the unique identity of the Nagas, which it termed as a “bold step forward.” “Nothing on earth stays put and everything is transitional. People and nations are also transitional,” it stated, while affirming the principle of “growing and walking with time and tide.” It stated that
the NSCN (IM), as dictated by objective reality, is bound to go for a solution, which is transitional to the final goal. “We do not believe in the myth of solving problem through unprincipled consensus. Solution of the kind of national political issue is by nature, principle-based, not majority-based. One should be fully informed of the political line of one’s people. All Nagas should unite in the line of the people, which is their rallying point,” it stated. It recalled how the Nagas were placed in a perilous situation “when NNC had failed to uphold the national trust by signing the infamous Shillong Accord in 1975.” “The wheel of history cannot be pulled back or stopped by any force. The Nagas too have to move forward along with the moving world,” it stated, while asserting that “no one should doubt about it that NSCN is the embodiment of the Naga national trust inasmuch as NSCN is built upon the rock of national decision.” It also cautioned Nagas to be aware of groups or individuals “propagating hypocritical slogans and high sounding phrase with no foundation whatsoever.” “We are very much clear with regard to the road map for the final solution of the Indo-Naga issue. The agreement arrived at between the two parties (India and Nagas) will constitute the final political settlement that is acceptable and honourable to both India and the Nagas,” it said. The NSCN (IM) stated that “as mandated by the people NSCN has been faithfully working for the cause with total dedication till date. It put up tough resistance against the aggressors with conviction and courage when situation demanded.” It assured that the political settlement “shall not come via any other route including pre-conditions or the Constitution of India,” while claiming that “there is no other peace process or political negotiation outside the present one between the GoI and the NSCN, in which the process had started at the highest level, without pre-condition and outside India in a third country and consequently, the GoI recognized the unique history and situation of the Nagas and a Framework Agreement was arrived at.”
nnc cadre killed Our Correspondent Imphal | December 23
An NNC cadre was killed in an encounter with the Indian Army at the Khoupum area of Tamenglong district on Wednesday morning. The shootout occurred at Luwangkhulen Part-I under Khoupum Police Station around 10:30 am, according to a police report which added that the cadre was killed when personnel of 8 Gorkha Rifles (GR) exchanged fire with a combined team of What do you need money NSCN (K) and Naga Nationfor? Your friends will supply al Council (NNC). The slain NNC cadre you the booze...
has been identified as Thaimei Kanamsoi, 40, resident of Luwangkhulen Part-II of Tamenglong. According to police, the 8 GR team conducted operation in Luwangkhulen Patrt-I where a joint meeting of NSCN (K) and NNC was being arranged. Upon reaching the spot, the GR team came under fire from the militants, which resulted in a shootout lasting about 40 minutes, police added. The GR team backed by Assam Rifles later carried out a massive search to nab other cadres, but no arrests were reported.
4 killed in Phek bus accident Our Correspondent Kohima | December 23
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Four persons were killed in a tragic bus accident at Phek town this morning at around 9:40am. The bus reportedly lost control on the road and fell down around 20 feet down off the side of the road. Three people were killed on spot while one succumbed to injury while being taken to Kohima for treatment. The three deceased who died on the spot were identified as Chivozo, Zhokulu and Vechikho (Driver) while Vetanieyi died on the way to Kohima. It was informed that three people were injured critically and airlifted, while seven more injured were taken
The ill fated bus which fell off the road at Phek town of the morning of December 23.
to Kohima in ambulance. Others who suffered injury were admitted to Phek Hospital. The community bus,
belonging to Kutsapo, the first VDB village in Nagaland, met with the accident in Bethany colony while coming from the village.
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