From Bodo militant hideout to biodiversity hotspot, how Raimona National Park scripted a peaceful change

The essence of peace that comes from being amidst biodiversity cannot be more palpable than during a drive through the pebbled bed of a dried monsoon-river in one of the youngest national parks of India.

Nestled at the southern foothills of Eastern Himalaya in Assam’s Kokrajhar district, the Raimona National Park in its earlier avatar as Ripu-Chirang Reserve Forests (RCRF) was known more for being a corridor for militants to sneak into Bhutan than a biodiversity hotspot.

Clubbing major areas of two reserve forests, the national park was created in June 2021. It’s named after the historical capital of the erstwhile Bijni kingdom, Raimona.

Clubbing major areas of two reserve forests, the Raimona National Park was created in June 2021.

Spread over 422 square kilometres, the park is set out to become another conservation success story of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) after the turnaround of the Manas National Park and Tiger Reserve, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site.

Between April 2023 and March 2024, Raimona received 3,485 domestic and 6 foreign tourists, according to government data.

The number, though small, is remarkable considering that until a couple of years ago it was not only out of bounds for tourists but regarded as a hotbed of insurgency and lawlessness. The area was frequently combed by security forces to flush out militants.

The RCRF and its adjoining forest areas were the theatre of a massive counter-insurgency operation code named ‘Operation All Out’ launched in 2015 by the army along with the Indian Air Force, Assam police and paramilitary forces.

Over 3,000 troops of the army were engaged in the exercise to drive out militants of the Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-S) from the area.

Operations by the security forces inside the forest area were very common till as late as 2020.

A forest guard in Raimona National Park. Operations by the security forces inside the forest area were very common till as late as 2020.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from inside the forest in August 2020. Six NDFB-S militants, including the outfit’s deputy finance secretary Bahaigya Basumatary alias Belarwm, was arrested from their forest hideout about a year before.

The two latest incidents pointed to the fact that the forest was till then a strong “militant habitat”.

Besides using the inaccessible forest along India-Bhutan border for shelter and crossing over to the neighbouring country, militants also exploited its resources to fund their armed movement, said a former DG-ranked Assam Police official RM Singh, who also served in the Bodoland area as inspector general.

Poaching of wild animals, felling of trees and encroachment of forest areas were rampant. Taking advantage of militancy, poachers too ruled the roost in the forest.

“It was a very depressing sight when I visited the forests in 2007-08. Trees were copiously chopped off and taken away. I could see timber being transported out in all sorts of vehicles even in cycles. It was free for all. Venison and meat of other wild animals, I was told, were openly sold in the local markets,” recalled Dr Rathin Barman, joint director of the Wildlife Trust of India.

The situation was not conducive for any wildlife conservation activities or carrying out any wildlife survey, Barman told The Federal.

A major breakthrough came in January 2020 with the signing of a new peace accord by the All-Bodo Students’ Union (ABSU), United Bodo People’s Organisation and all the four factions of the NDFB with New Delhi and Dispur. The accord led to surrendering of arms by all the four militant groups.

Disbanding of the NDFB factions, particularly the NDFB (S), which was more active in the reserve forest area, was the watershed movement in forest protection.

With the return of peace came the urge to restore the ecological condition of the Bodoland area to its past glory and all the stakeholders pitched in, said Barman.

Encouraged by the enthusiasm, local conservationists and non-profit-conservation organisations such as WTI and the Raimona Golden Langur Ecotourism Society (formed in June 2021) started the revival process.

Adjoined by the Phipsoo Wildlife Sanctuary and Namgyal Wangchuk Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan to the north, Manas National Park to the east and the Buxa Tiger Reserve in West Bengal to the west, Raimona is an integral part of a transboundary conservation landscape.

When the Ripu reserve forest, which covers the major part of the nascent park, was notified in 1893, it was considered to be the largest repository of Sal trees in South-East Asia. So much so that the then British government even laid tram lines inside the forest to transport the logs of the Sal trees mostly to make railway sleepers.

The forest space was also the favourite hunting ground of the Coochbehar rulers.

From the description of one of their hunting expeditions, it was apparent that the forest was teeming with wild animals.

The hunting party of Maharaja Niprendra Narayan during one such expedition in March 1900 had reportedly shot 11 tigers, 11 leopards, one rhino, three water buffaloes, five bears, one bison, two sambar, three hog deer and three pigs.

Clearly, the destruction started much before the commencement of the Bodo insurgency in the mid-1980s.

The dense-forest cover on either bank of the dried river and recent sightings of rare faunas hold out hope. More so when the former poachers join the conservation campaign.

“Initially, we thought reversal would take at least ten years. But recent findings suggest the recovery could be faster,” Barman said exuding optimism.

Conservationists have reasons to be optimistic. Royal Bengal tiger, mainland serow and Chinese pangolin were sighted in the park, which is also home to elephants, Indian gaur, wild buffalo, clouded leopard, spotted deer, golden langurs and a wide variety of inspects and avian species, including hornbill and crested serpent eagle.

A recent short-term inventory survey revealed the presence of at least 227 avian species, including seven globally threatened varieties.

Another baseline survey recorded the presence of around 190 species of butterflies. Some of these species were spotted for the first time in the northeast, said Brojo Kumar Basumatary, a renowned conservationist.

Pointing out that no conservation endeavour could be successful without the engagement of the local community, Basumatary said that former poachers are playing a key role in protecting the Raimona National Park.

Soon after the park was notified, the forest department and the Raimona Golden Langur Eco-tourism Society reached out to the poachers with offers of alternative livelihoods.

All 57 poachers active in the area responded positively. In September 2021, they surrendered guns, other hunting tools and wildlife derivatives, including two tusks, they possessed.

“The Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) administration gave them one-time financial assistance of Rs 50,000 each to start a fresh life of dignity. We now use them as forest volunteers and guides. Some of them also opened homestay as tourists started exploring this untraversed region,” said Somnath Narzary, chief advisor of the eco-tourism society that played the mediator.

To sustain the good beginning, the tourist flow to the area needed to be increased and the reformed poachers should be adequately rehabilitated.

“I was earning more while poaching in the forest,” said Oden Musahary, a reformed poacher. He, however, vowed not to return to poaching.