Most farmers in the country are struggling with the age-old story of human-wildlife conflict. Their hard work under the scorching sun and soaking rain are more often than not ends up as food for wildlife. The fate of the farmers in Tashigang under Dokar Gewog in Paro is no different. They stay up every night guarding their orchards against bears and wild boars. With the attacks on their farms increasing every day, they now fear for their lives too.
Surrounded by green farms and overlooking the historic Dobji Dzong, Tashigang is a model of a serene village. However, as dusk creeps in, it is a different tale; like a scene from a horror movie, the peaceful village turns into a cacophony of hoots, shouting, banging tins, eerie flashlights and barking dogs.
These are in an effort to protect their crops and apples from bears and wild boars. And this happens every night after a tiring day in the field.
According to the farmers, the bears and wild boars ravage their crops and return to the forest just above their house.
“Wild boars come in sounder and we can’t chase them easily. They have finished most of my apples and now they show at my doorstep. We only know they are ravaging our fields when our dogs bark,” said Tandin Wangmo, a farmer in the village.
“It is very difficult to defend our crops. Due to our daily works, we get tired and oversleep, and then we lose our crops to them. It is even risky to chase them out, some of these animals won’t fear our yelling, they instead come to attack us also. It is mostly the mother, which has cubs and piglets,” added Lungten Chogyel, also from Tashigang village.
According to the villagers, they have started losing their crops to wildlife attacks frequently after an individual left acres of land barren for a very long time. The land has now turned into a forest, a safe haven for wildlife.
“He has over 12 acres of land, which is located in the middle of our village. He kept the land barren for over 20 years and it is a forest now. This forest is causing trouble to our village as wild boars and bears live there. Firstly they attack our crops and secondly our school-going children are all small, there is a risk that they might attack them. For this matter, we have complained to the gewog several times,” said Tashi, in Tashigang.
“The animals are always coming out of this forest which is located in the middle of our village. Whenever we chase them they go inside the forest and then we can’t chase any further. And when we leave, they will come back to attack our fields. Earlier it is not barren, people farmed the land on lease. Now it is a forest,” added Nidup Wangmo.
According to the gewog administration, the matter is genuine and the complaint from the farmers have been forwarded to the Dzongkhag from last year.
“I personally contacted the landowner to clear the forest. After that, he came to clear the forest but they did not clear the forest very well. They just cleared some bushes. And during the monsoon, the bushes grew back to its original state,” said Lhab Tshering, the Dokar Gup.
A similar complaint was also forwarded to the dzongkhag through the gewog recently. And as they wait for the bureaucrats to address the issue, they will have to continue sacrificing their sleep to guard their crops.
Namgay Wangchuk, Paro
Edited by Sonam
