Indo-Bhutan conservation action plan soon to save golden langurs

Guwahati: Conservationists and policy makers in India and Bhutan have joined hands to work out a joint action plan to save the future of golden langurs, a primate species endemic to Western Assam and Southern Bhutan.

A consultation for working out the action plan was organised in Bongaigaon, a town in western Assam, on Tuesday by Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) with the help of Primate Research Centre, Northeast, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) and the Assam forest department. 

Executive director of WTI, Vivek Menon said the initiative is important as golden langur’s survival hinges on innovative solutions and cross-border cooperation. 

The Golden langur is a strikingly beautiful primate endemic to western Assam and southern Bhutan and found only between the Sankosh and Beki rivers in the eastern Himalayan landscape. The species faces increasing threats from habitat fragmentation, road accidents, electrocution, and human-wildlife conflict. With only about 7,000 individuals remaining in the wild, our effort is to unite conservationists, community leaders, researchers, and policymakers to develop actionable strategies to secure the species’ future, WTI said.

Hope for Bodoland

Ranjit Basumatary, an executive member of the BTC, an autonomous council comprising five districts in western Assam, and in-charge of forests of the council said securing the future of golden langurs is significant for Bodoland Territorial Region as the wildlife species is a symbol of the region’s unique biodiversity. "The BTC is committed to the protection and conservation of the golden langur. The BTC has safeguarded nearly all habitats of this species within our jurisdiction by establishing new protected areas such as Raimona National Park and Sikhna Jwhwlao National Park, apart from the existing Manas National Park and Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary.” The Bodoland Territorial Region that shares a border with Bhutan is trying to project the golden langurs as an attraction to promote tourism in the region that have come out of decades-long problem of militancy. BTC chief Pramod Boro attended the event in Bongaigaon. 

Russell Mittermeier, Chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) SSC Primate Specialist Group, endorsed the initiative, emphasizing the critical role of an action plan. “Action planning has long been a cornerstone of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group dating back to the first Global Strategy for Primate Conservation in 1977 and the first modern action plans in the 1980s. We are delighted that an Action Plan is now in preparation for the Golden Langur, which is one of India's most iconic species.”

Forest officials from Bhutan shared their efforts to conserve the golden langur and expressed enthusiasm for collaborating with their Indian counterparts to protect this species across its transboundary range. Experts from the Wildlife Institute of India (Dehradun), Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON, Coimbatore), and other primatologists presented suggestions for the conservation and management of the golden langur and its unique habitats in Assam and Bhutan.

A vision document will be prepared outlining actionable steps and timelines. This document will serve as a guiding document for conservation organizations and governments to secure the golden langur’s future in Assam and Bhutan, the WTI statement said.

The Royal Enfield Social Mission is supporting the initiative.