Birds, Homes, and Hope: A Community Bird Count in Pakke Tiger Reserve (2014)
In 2014, nestled in the lush wilderness of Arunachal Pradesh, a quiet revolution took flight in the Pakke Tiger Reserve. Alongside local partners and tribal communities, I had the privilege of initiating a grassroots bird count—an effort not just to document avian diversity, but to sow the seeds of community-led conservation.
The idea was simple, yet powerful: invite local tribal families to open their homes to birdwatchers. In doing so, they would earn a livelihood through hosting, guiding, and sharing their deep-rooted knowledge of the forest. In return, they made a promise—no hunting of birds.
This was more than just a bird count. It was a trust-building exercise, a celebration of biodiversity, and a step toward sustainable tourism where the community became the custodians of their natural heritage. The forests echoed with the calls of hornbills, barbets, and laughingthrushes, while homes turned into havens for nature lovers.
The initiative helped shift the narrative—from extraction to preservation, from outsider-led tourism to community stewardship. It was a reminder that conservation thrives when local voices lead, and that protecting biodiversity can walk hand-in-hand with economic empowerment.
Pakke’s birds still sing, and perhaps, somewhere in those forests, a child who once watched birders from her doorstep is now a guardian of the skies.