To protect pangolins in the northeastern Indian state of Nagaland, conservationists are turning to community-driven customary laws, reports contributor Kasturi Das for Mongabay India. In February this year, the United Sangtam Likhum Pumji (USLP), the apex tribal body of the Sangtam Naga community, passed a resolution banning pangolin hunting in 42 villages in Nagaland’s Kiphire district. Village councils are responsible for enforcement, and customary courts will handle violations. Pangolins, the world’s most trafficked mammals, are protected under national laws in India, which prohibits hunting. However, enforcement is challenging in states like Nagaland, where land and resource management is largely governed by local customary laws. Monesh Tomar, assistant manager at the conservation group Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), told Mongabay India that many communities there aren’t fully aware of the national laws. Moreover, officials and community members frequently belong to the same social networks, making enforcement difficult, he said. Traditionally, pangolin hunting in parts of Nagaland was driven by cultural beliefs. “Our forefathers would say that if a pangolin enters a house, it was considered a bad omen or curse,” L. Kipitong Sangtam, 61, a Kiphire resident and member of the USLP, told Mongabay India. “In the past, if someone encountered a pangolin, they would try to catch and kill it, sometimes by digging it out of its burrow.” Now, hunting is mostly for local demand for meat and scales to make ornaments, according to Mukesh Thakur, wildlife forensic expert with the Zoological Survey of India. Pangolin scales are also targeted…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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