Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival

• Context (DTE): Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF) is celebrated in Arunachal Pradesh.
• The festival aims to recognize the efforts of the Nyishi community turned conservationists and highlights the critical need to preserve hornbills.
• It focuses on wildlife conservation, particularly hornbills, with four species (Oriental pied hornbill, wreathed hornbill (vulnerable), rufous-necked hornbill (vulnerable) and great hornbill (near threatened))in the Pakke Tiger Reserve.
• This year’s theme of the festival is “Let Our Hornbills Remain”.

Nyishi community

• They are the largest ethnic group in Arunachal Pradesh, with a population of around 300,000.
• Their language, Nyishi, belongs to the Sino-Tibetan family.
• Polygyny (more than one wife) is a prevalent practice among them.

Pakke Tiger Reserve

• It is located in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh and was established in 1966.
• The reserve has won the India Biodiversity Award 2016 for the Hornbill Nest Adoption Programme in the ‘Conservation of threatened species‘ category.
• The reserve is surrounded by the Bhareli or Kameng River, the Pakke River, and contiguous forests on most sides.
• Climate: Subtropical with cold weather from November to March, annual rainfall of 2,500 mm.

Hornbill

• Hornbills are called “gardeners or farmers of the forest” for playing a key role in dispersing seeds of tropical trees.
• Hornbills are large, fruit-eating birds found along certain fleshy fruit trees.

• Great Hornbill is the state bird of Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh.
• The hornbills are found in tropical and subtropical Africa and Asia.
• Threats: Illegal logging, forest clearance, hunting for meat & medicinal value of body parts.
• Conservation Status:  IUCN: Vulnerable; WPA, 1972: Schedule I; CITES: Appendix I.

India Biodiversity Awards It is a joint initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Biodiversity Authority and the United Nations Development Programme. It is to identify and recognize the efforts of individuals, communities and institutions working towards biodiversity conservation.