The 9th edition of the Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival (PPHF), a state festival of Arunachal Pradesh, will take place at Seijosa in the Pakke Kessang district from January 18-20, 2024.
About Pakke Paga Hornbill Festival:
- The first-ever PPHF was held in 2015. The aim was to recognise the role played by the Nyishi tribal group in conserving hornbills in Pakke Tiger Reserve (PTR).
- Other objectives were to raise alternative sources of income for the region and to create awareness in the rest of India about the wonders of PTR and its surrounding areas.
- This year, the festival’s theme is Domutoh Domutoh, Paga hum Domutoh. It translates to ‘Let Our Hornbills Remain’ in the Nyishi language.
- This year’s festival aims to underscore the critical need for preserving these iconic birds.
Key points about Pakke Tiger Reserve:
- It is located in the East Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh.
- It is surrounded by the Tenga Reserve Forest to the North, Doimara Reserve Forest on the West, Nameri National Park and Tiger Reserve (Assam) on the South.
- The landscape has high species diversity and endemicity as it forms the transition zone between the Indian and Malayan ecoregions.
- It is situated North of the river Brahmaputra in the transition zone between the Assam plains and the hilly forests of Arunachal Pradesh.
- Vegetation:Â It consists of tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest.
- Flora: Polyalthia simiarum, Pterospermum acerifolium, Sterculia alata, Stereospermum chelonioides, Ailanthus grandis and Duabanga grandiflor. About eight species of bamboo occur in the area.
- Fauna:Â Tiger, Elephant, predators like Leopard and Clouded leopard etc.