Nature's Beckon

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Nature's Beckon
FounderSoumyadeep Datta
TypeNonprofit
Legal statusActive
PurposeConservation
HeadquartersDhubri, Assam, India
Region
North East India
MethodsMulti-structural activism, holistic conservation, youth training, education, research
FieldsEnvironmental activism, anthropology, research, lobbying
Official language
Assamese, English, Hindi, Bengali, Bodo, Rabha, Goalparia, etc.
Director
Soumyadeep Datta
Websitehttp://naturesbeckon.org/
Mission Statement: The mission of Nature's Beckon is working with the people to conserve, protect and increase wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the people of India.

Nature's Beckon is an independent environmental activist group in Northeast India[1] which initiated the environmental movement in Assam.[2]

The organization was established by Ashoka Fellow Soumyadeep Datta[3] in the year 1982.[4][5][1][6] The organization is working in the fields of conservation of wildlife, environmental education, and scientific research.[1] In 1991, the organization was formally registered under the Societies Registration Act.[citation needed]

The organization is credited with the discovery of the golden languar (Presbytis geei) in the hill reserves of Chakrashila.[7][8][9] The organization spearheaded conservation movements in Assam, such as the Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary Movement and the Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam. The organization declared some habitats of wildlife as protected areas, such as the Chakrashila and Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuaries.[10][11][12][13][14]

Some programs are undertaken to teach students, environmental activists, and workers about the environment and habitat.[1]

Formation[edit]

Nature's Beckon started as a nature club formed by Soumyadeep Datta at a young age in 1982. Led by him, the organization at first went on nature-trails and bird-watching expeditions in the Dhubri Forests. Kamal Narayan Choudhury provided guidance and helped them expand their activities.[8][15]

Activities[edit]

Nature's Beckon staging a street play during the rainforest conservation movement of Assam.

Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary Movement and conservation of golden languar[edit]

Nature's Beckon took up a 12-year-long conservation movement through people's participation in the declaration of the Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary.[16][17][3][5]

After the discovery of golden languar[18][19] in the hill reserves of Chakrashila, the organization worked for its protection through a movement at the grassroot level that involved local people, surveys and research, lobbying and other forms of activism.[11][20][21]

Rainforest Conservation Movement of Assam and the declaration of Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary[edit]

In 2003, UK based Premier Oil was permitted by the forest department to explore oil in the interior of the rainforests. It was later shut down due to the activism of Nature's Beckon.[citation needed]

Nature's Beckon rediscovered the presence of rain forest in the Dibrugarh-Tinsukia districts of Upper Assam and undertook a movement for the legal protection of 500 sq km of contiguous rainforest. This movement started with baseline surveys of the region by the organization. After around a decade of trying (1995–2004), the conservation movement taken by Nature's Beckon forced the state government on 13 June 2004 to declare 111.19 sq km of rainforest as 'Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary.'[22] The organization still demands and works for the area extension of the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary, saying that the Dehing Patkai Wildlife Sanctuary should constitute the entire contiguous rain forest.[23][24][4]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "About Us". Nature's Beckon. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  2. ^ "Rakesh Soud | Changemakers". www.changemakers.org. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  3. ^ a b "Ashoka-Soumyadeep Datta". Ashoka International Website.
  4. ^ a b Bhattacharjee, Jhimli (2009). "4". Environmental activism in North East India: exploring environmental movements and action groups with special reference to Assam (PDF) (Ph.D thesis).
  5. ^ a b Kaziranga National Park. Banalata. 2018. p. 195. ISBN 978-93-82056-68-3.
  6. ^ "Taking poachers by Horns". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  7. ^ "A few valuable letters, messages and other documents". Nature's Beckon. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  8. ^ a b Ghosh, Tapan (January–March 1993). "Golden Discovery". WWF-India Quarterly.
  9. ^ Datta, Soumyadeep (April–June 1998). "A report on the discovery of Golden Languar at Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuay and its Conservation". Tigerpaper. 25 (2): 23–26.
  10. ^ Datta, Soumyadeep Datta (December 15, 2003). "Feral Instinct". India Today.
  11. ^ a b Wolvekamp, Paul (1999). Forests for the Future: Local Strategies for Forest Protection,Economic Welfare and Social Justice. New York, London: Zed Books Ltd. pp. 58–65. ISBN 1-85649-756-9.
  12. ^ Datta, Soumyadeep (July 1996). "Battling to Protect the Environment". Participation and Governence. 3 (7): 3–7 – via Society for Participatory Research in Asia).
  13. ^ "Concerted effort for conservation of rainforests urged". The Times of India. Press Trust of India. 2013-11-21. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  14. ^ "Nature's Beckon North East India - Activities and Achievements". Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  15. ^ "Visionaire Extraordinaire Soumyadeep Datta". The Eclectic-A Global Magazine. August 2007: 20–27. August 2007.
  16. ^ "Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary". WildTrails Recent Sightings | The One-Stop Destination for all your Wildlife Travels. 2017-09-23. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  17. ^ "Golden Langur". kokrajhar.gov.in. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  18. ^ "Status Survey of Endangered Species-Report 1". Zoological Survey of India. 1994.
  19. ^ "Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary | Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary Kokrajhar | Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary Assam | Golden Langur in Assam". www.assaminfo.com. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  20. ^ Communities and Conservation:Natural Resource Management in South and Central Asia. California, New Delhi, London: Sage Publications. 1998. pp. 425–434. ISBN 0-7619-9279-0.
  21. ^ "Activities and Achievements". Nature's Beckon. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
  22. ^ Sharma, Novanita. "Dehing Patkai: A survivor once again". The Hill Times.
  23. ^ "Dehing-Patkai national park should include entire Amazon of the East: Conservationists, activists | Headlines". Devdiscourse. Retrieved 2020-09-08.
  24. ^ Rainforests of Assam. Nature's Beckon. 2013. ISBN 978-93-82624-71-4.
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