Focus on Red Panda conservation at Sandakpur festival

PRASHANT ACHARYA

SANDAKPUR (Nepal), : Sikkim and Nepal have agreed on transboundary conservation and adoption drives to save Red Pandas. The 3rd Red Panda Festival in Kalpokhari, Sandakpur, Nepal, concluded on Saturday with a discussion among delegates from Nepal, the Red Panda Network, Sikkim, and activists from Assam.

Sikkim’s actor Shyamashree Sherpa, who is an adopter of a Red Panda (Pokchi) from the Himalayan Zoological Park in Bulbuley near Gangtok, spoke on the adoption drive during a debate on Red Panda conservation.

Sherpa, who acted in the film ‘Tara – The Lost Star’, is presently working for the conservation of Red Pandas, symbolising celebrity-driven conservation. She also urged Nepal’s actors, activists, leaders and the general public to adopt Red Pandas.

Sherpa said, “Adoption is not to bring the animal home but to support financially so that zoo authorities can take better care and the dwindling population can rise.”

She explained how the Government of Sikkim, under the leadership of Chief Minister Prem SinghTamang-Golay, launched the initiative “My Child from Wild” project to save the endangered species, which currently has a global population of around 10,000.

Ram Rimal, Ilam district co-coordinator of the Red Panda Network (RPN), highlighted how conservation can be carried out jointly by the two nations, especially in Sikkim, Bengal and Ilam district, where the habitat of the Red Panda lies. According to Rimal, RPN has launched the Forest Guardian programme, where citizens can monitor the species by tracking Red Panda behaviour and habitat use, raise awareness in their communities, and mobilise support against poaching.

An activist from Assam, SoumyadeepDatta, who is also the director of Nature’s Beckon, spoke on joint conservation and community-based awareness drives to save Red Pandas. During his presentation, he said that Nepal’s Red Panda Festival is the first-ever effort of its kind in the world working for Red Panda conservation. The transboundary conservation for the species is an outstanding idea, but the mission should focus more on conservation rather than attracting tourists.

Datta’s speech on various aspects of biodiversity conservation and the dwindling Red Panda population across the world enthralled the audience during the panel discussion held at Kalpokhari.