Bhutan Birding and Heritage Travels

2 August, 2009 - High up, close to the northern frontier of the country, forester Sangay wakes up to a crystal blue morning sky, arching over the rocky and treeless valley of Tsarijathang. Towering on the western horizon is the snow-capped Jomolhari peak.

With a binocular slung over his shoulder and wearing waterproof apparel, Sangay leaves the nomad’s shed and walks for about an hour to a spot that offers a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains.

He places the binocular on a protruding rock and spreads himself belly down on the dewy grass. About 20 takins are grazing on the other side of the mountain. He turns the binocular in another direction. It’s another herd of almost 200 takins. “Their population has increased drastically this year,” he says.

In the past five years, the 40-year-old forester of Jigme Dorji national park (JDNP) has also spotted the royal Bengal tiger, the snow leopard and blue sheep on his annual eight-month outpost duty in Laya.

Sangay spends three seasons in the mountains, watching over the national park. In the winter, when patrolling is impossible because of the snow, he works at the Gasa range office.

About 38 foresters from the Gasa, Remchu, Lingshi, and Soe range offices of the 4,349 sq km JDNP spend their days walking through this isolated, rugged and extremely beautiful part of the country, on the look out for cordycep and musk deer poachers. They carry their rations and utensils and camp by the river and in nomad sheds as they go about doing their rounds.

Between 2001 and 2008 park officials apprehended about 2,434 Tibetan poachers and 398 local poachers.

JDNP, declared a wildlife sanctuary in 1974, and upgraded to a national park in 1995, requires more manpower and facilities for more effective management and collection of scientific information, say park officials.

“We need about 22 more foresters for more effective conservation,” the officiating park manager Sonam Zangpo said. “A range office needs a 10-member squad, but we have only have six to seven staff.”

He also said that there was rising concern about the sustainability of the cordycep, as poachers indiscriminately harvest the medicinal fungi. There was not much support from local people either. Sometimes, both legal and illegal collectors are found picking cordyceps together at the same site, according to park officials. Harvesting season is from May to July, but poachers begin harvesting before the season. “If this doesn’t stop, cordycep will be extinct in the next few years,” Sonam Zangpo said.

The park also suffers from non-biodegradable waste like cigarette butts, bottles, tin cans and plastic left behind by illegal poachers.

Though, no specific study has been done, park staff observed a substantive disturbance to the wildlife habitat due to presence of too many people and excessive picking of cordyceps in the same area. There was also increased pressure on the park’s natural resources from collection of firewood and tent poles.

Park officials say they need firearms during the patrolling season. “There was a time when poachers attacked us and a few of us were wounded but we were helpless,” said a forester, Tshering. “The government should provide us arms so that we can scare the poachers away,” Sangay said, adding that local poachers are very aggressive.