In a first, Manipur village bans wildlife hunting for 3 years to conserve forest

Shirui peak also known as Shirui Kashong in local parlance in the Ukhrul district located about 100 km north east of Imphal is the natural habitat of Manipur’s state flower Shirui lily

In a move to conserve biodiversity of Shirui peak and its forest where the state flower and tree grows, for the first time, the people of Shirui village in Manipur’s Ukhrul district have imposed a ban on the hunting of animals and killing of birds within its jurisdiction for the next three years beginning October 2023.

A resolution was taken in the Shirui village half yearly sitting recently. (Representative file image)

“A resolution was taken in the Shirui village half yearly sitting recently,” said headman Soyo A Wungsek of Shirui village (Aze).

“The idea is to preserve and conserve the forest and wildlife”, he said.

The Shirui village authority had also written a letter in this regard to the divisional forest officer, Ukhrul (Aze) last month. The letter was jointly signed by headmen of Shirui village (Aze) and Shirui village (Ato).

Shirui peak also known as Shirui Kashong in local parlance in the Ukhrul district located about 100 km north east of Imphal is the natural habitat of Manipur’s state flower Shirui lily which blossoms in May-June.

Manipur’s three important treasures including state flower-Shirui Lily (Lilium mackliniae), the state bird-Nongin (syrmaticus humiae) and state tree-Uningthou (Phoebe hainesiana) are found in Shirui area, according to headman Wungsek.

The world-famed flower Shirui Lily which was discovered by an English botanist and explorer Dr Frank Kingdon Ward in the Shirui hills in 1946, was named after Shirui village located about 15km north of Ukhrul district headquarters.

He later gave it a botanical name Lilium Mackliniae after the maiden name of his wife Jean Macklin.

In 1950, Dr Ward had even introduced the unique lily to the world and won the prestigious award of Royal Horticultural Society at the Chelsea Flower Show in England.

Besides, the water in Ukhrul district headquarters which has a sizable population, comes from Shirui village.

“So, people really need to support the initiative of the village so as to conserve the endangered flower, birds and trees,” he observed.

“We’ll continue the initiative if we get the support from the government by providing an alternative livelihood to villagers”, he added.

Chief minister N Biren Singh also praised the initiative of the Shirui village.

In a social media post on November 5, Biren wrote on X (formerly twitter), “For the first time in Manipur, the people of Shirui village have decided to completely ban the hunting and killing of animals and birds within their jurisdiction. It is a remarkable step towards the conservation of biodiversity and the protection of our precious wildlife.”