Khonoma: Khonoma village, known for its pioneering conservation efforts, hosted the first-ever Community Conserved Area (CCA) workshop on April 26 and 27, 2025, with a focus on protecting the highly threatened clouded leopard and other small wild cat species in the region.
The event was spearheaded by conservation biologist Dr. Giridhar Malla, who leads the Eastern Himalayas Marbled Cat Project, in collaboration with Mr. Pele Meyase of the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS).
The two-day workshop brought together local community members, conservationists, and stakeholders from across Nagaland to enhance understanding of the ecological roles of small wild cats and to develop strategies for their conservation within community-managed landscapes.
Nagaland, and the broader Northeast region of India, is a biodiversity hotspot home to several elusive small wild cat species, including the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), marbled cat (Pardofelis marmorata), and Asiatic golden cat (Catopuma temminckii). Among these, the clouded leopard is of particular concern.
Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, the clouded leopard has suffered significant habitat loss, fragmentation, and poaching across its range. In India, it is mostly found in the northeastern states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, and Nagaland—where it inhabits dense forests and hill terrains.
Though sightings are rare, recent camera trap studies have confirmed their continued, albeit threatened, presence in parts of Nagaland, highlighting the urgent need for locally driven conservation.
The Khonoma workshop featured in-depth sessions on the diversity and distribution of small wild cats in Nagaland and the broader Eastern Himalayas, the importance of CCAs in biodiversity protection, and success stories from similar community-led conservation efforts in the region. An introduction to citizen science aimed to equip participants with knowledge and tools to actively engage in wildlife monitoring and conservation documentation.
Participants were trained in identifying animal signs such as tracks, scat, and claw marks, and in the use of camera traps for wildlife monitoring.
Group activities emphasized forest corridor management, habitat restoration, and locally tailored conservation strategies. Each group developed a basic conservation action plan with defined goals, timelines, and monitoring frameworks.
A key part of the workshop was the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. This identified persistent challenges facing small wild cat conservation in Nagaland, including policy gaps, illegal hunting, unregulated infrastructure development, climate change-related impacts, and recurring forest fires.
On the final day, participants undertook a practical field trek where they received hands-on training in setting up and positioning camera traps, recognizing wildlife signs in the forest, and using GPS devices for accurate location mapping and data collection.
The workshop was supported by the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation (SWCCF), Panthera, Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS), and the Nagaland Community Conserved Area Forum (NCCAF). These organizations reiterated their commitment to supporting community-driven initiatives aimed at conserving Nagaland’s rich wildlife heritage.
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