Guwahati: Foresters in Nagaland got up to some serious "monkey business" on hoolock gibbon conservation.

A training programme on conservation was organised at the Hoolock Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary at Mariani in Jorhat from June 1-7.

The wildlife sanctuary in Jorhat district is the only protected area in the country to be named after a primate species. It has seven species of primates and is one of the highest primates-diverse areas in the country.

Twelve foresters from Nagaland and nine from Assam attended the training programme organised by Aaranyak, in collaboration with the Assam and Nagaland forest departments.

Primatologist Dilip Chetry, the main co-ordinator of the training, said this was the first time in the history of Nagaland that its foresters were being trained on hoolock gibbon conservation.

Discussions were held on a wide range of topics, including the biodiversity of the Northeast, primate conservation, primate and gibbon survey techniques, GPS and remote sensing, technique of floristic study, habitat restoration, wildlife law, rescue and rehabilitation. "The programme was successful and we have planned a training programme for forest guards, a population estimation and finally a gibbon conservation action plan," he said.

There are around 200 hoolock gibbons at Intanki and Fakim wildlife sanctuaries in Nagaland. The species is found in eastern Bangladesh and the Northeast.

"There are some in community-conserved areas in Nagaland and we have to find out the population too," he said.

Chetry said the programme will deepen the bonds between the forest departments of the states in the conservation of the hoolock gibbon and biodiversity.

Chief wildlife warden of Assam D.P. Bankuwal highlighted the status, needs and the role of foresters in hoolock gibbon conservation.

"The lack of basic information and poor conservation awareness about the species among people, including the frontline staff of the forest department, is yet another major hindrance in the conservation of the species. The forester who actually works in the field is unaware about the various facets of hoolock gibbon conservation strategy," he said.