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Khonoma, a Northeastern village known as ‘Asia’s first green village’ was once popular for wildlife hunting. This quaint village is located near the Indo-Myanmar border at a distance of approximately 20 km from the capital city of Nagaland which is Kohima.
Surrounded by lush green mountains and picturesque landscape, Khonoma is a great place to unwind in the lap of nature. This centuries-old village has a very less population. It approximately has 600 households. If you are a discerning traveller, you must visit Khonoma and explore its beauty staying at one of the homestays in the village run by local people of the Angami tribe. You won’t find a village as clean as Khonoma in India.
In this green village, hunting was once considered sacred and a significant way of life. In the early 1990s, the people of Khonoma killed around 300 endangered Blyth’s tragopan in just one week as part of a hunting competition. That’s when certain village elders got concerned about the wildlife in Khonoma and started to create awareness about the significance of protecting the wildlife through a campaign under the guidance of community leader Niketu Iralu and Thepfulhouvi Angami, who was then the principal chief conservator of forests in Nagaland. The campaign aimed to create a protected area within the 125-square-kilometer of the village and a ban hunting and logging.
But, it was not easy to achieve. Certain elders in the village alarmed the hunters and made them understand that a continuous hunting practice will not let the future generation witness the majestic creatures in the area and their beauty. Outside interventions were also observed to change the mindset of the hunters in Khonoma. Experts from several conservation organizations in India were invited by the village council to speak to them and educate the villagers.
Later in 1998, after around 5 years of dialogue, Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS) was created and the village council demarcated 20 sqkm as the KNTCS. This Naga village is now known for overcoming the ecological challenges and coming out victorious. Now, those who were dependent on hunting for their survival and also those who were doing it as a sacred cultural practice have stopped hunting and shifted to farming.
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