<
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/feb/09/assam-hargila-army-women-saved-india-rarest-stork-greater-adjutant>
"On a cool December afternoon a group of women dressed in brightly coloured
mekhela chadors (Assam’s traditional handwoven clothing) sit in a circle on
the grass at the Bhokha Beel wetlands, singing and clapping.
Some of the women are wearing papier-mache headdresses shaped like long-necked
birds. As they sing, one of them gets to her feet and starts dancing.
They are part of the “hargila army”, a group of rural women in the Indian state
of Assam who work to protect one of the world’s rarest storks: the greater
adjutant (
Leptoptilos dubius) – or
hargila (meaning “bone swallower” in
Assamese) as the scavenger bird is known locally. They are celebrating the
recent UN Environment Programme’s Champions of the Earth award, conferred on
the group’s biologist founder, Dr Purnima Devi Barman.
Barman won the award for her achievement in mobilising more than 10,000 women
to help save the stork. “They are the protectors of the birds and of their
nesting trees,” says Barman, referring to the band of homemakers turned
conservationists."
Via
Future Crunch:
https://futurecrunch.com/good-news-human-rights-spain/
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
