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.