Idu Mishmi oppose tiger reserve

• The Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary (WLS) in Arunachal Pradesh would soon be notified as a tiger reserve.
  • Dibang Wildlife Sanctuary, a biodiversity hotspot is home to rare Mishmi takin, musk deer, goral as well as clouded leopards, snow leopards and tigers.
  • It was notified in 1998.
• The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA), require that rights of people recognized in forest areas within core and critical tiger reserves may be modified and resettled for providing inviolate spaces to tiger or wild animals. This provision also flows from the Forest Rights Act 2006.
• Idu Mishmi people feel that a tiger reserve would hinder their access to the forest.
• There are fewer restrictions is WLS compared to Tiger Reserve.
  • WLS is open to the public and its boundaries are fluid.

About Tiger reserves

• Notified by State Governments as per Section 38V of WPA, 1972 on advice of NTCA.
• Consists of:
  • ‘Core’ or ‘Critical Tiger Habitat’, managed as an inviolate area for tiger conservation.
  • ‘Buffer’ or Peripheral area immediately abutting a Core area, which may be accorded a lesser degree of habitat protection.

About Idu Mishmi tribe

• It is a major sub-tribe of Mishmi group.
• They inhabit the Lohit district, Dibang Valley district and Lower Dibang Valley
• They are of mongoloid stock and speak the Tibeto-Burman language.
• They are known for their weaving and craftsmanship skills.
• The tribe is estimated to comprise around 12,000 people (as per census 2011), and their language (also called Idu Mishmi) is considered endangered by UNESCO.