High atop Mount Kashong, where the air thins and the view stretches for miles, blooms a botanical treasure – the Shirui Lily.
Manipur's state flower, with its delicate pale blue-pink petals, clings to this peak, a solitary beauty shrouded in legend.
Known locally as Kashong Timrawon, it's believed to be guarded by a protective spirit. But this ethereal flower, found nowhere else in India, faces a very real threat – extinction.
The Shirui Lily is just one of Manipur's unique flora in peril. The Kombirei flower, significant to the Meitei community for its cultural and historical value, is also teetering on the brink.
The state government, under mounting pressure, has pledged action.
Dr. T Brajakumar, Director of Environment and Climate Change, recently announced a multi-pronged approach, including laboratory and field studies, to determine the most effective conservation strategies.
The fight to save these floral emblems is multifaceted. Invasive species are disrupting the state's ecological balance.
Dr. Brajakumar stresses the urgency of documenting Manipur's rich biodiversity, a meeting point of the Himalayan and Indo-Burma hotspots.
But this very richness is under siege, with many endemic species now classified as endangered.
Beyond invasive flora and fauna, another culprit has emerged: unsustainable tourism.
The annual Shirui Lily festival, while promoting the flower's beauty, has inadvertently contributed to its decline.
Yaomeikan Shang, president of the Shirui Youth Club, lamented the lack of focus on conservation efforts amid the marketing push.
Littering by tourists poses a significant threat to the pristine mountain environment, endangering the very flower that draws them in.
The state government, however, assures its commitment to environmental protection.
Efforts to clean major rivers such as the Nambul, Kongba, and Imphal River have already begun, with hopes of securing substantial funding for the Imphal River from the concerned ministry soon.
MH Khan, Additional Chief Secretary of Forest, Environment, and Climate Change acknowledged the vital link between healthy forests, a thriving environment, and a stable climate.
Scientists echoed the urgency of conservation efforts. Dr. H Birkumar, Chief Scientist at CSIR-NEIST, expressed concern about the rapid disappearance of endemic species, jeopardising Manipur's status as a biodiversity hotspot.
Dr. Kh Samungou, Chairman of the State Wetlands Authority's Technical Committee, pointed to habitat degradation and climate change as major threats, surpassing even the historical dangers of poaching.
However, a bureaucratic hurdle stands in the way of comprehensive conservation. The area surrounding Mount Kashong, where the Lily blooms, was designated a proposed National Park in 1982.
Unfortunately, it has yet to receive full National Park status. This bureaucratic delay has hampered crucial conservation efforts. Local forest officials are unable to intervene effectively due to the area's proposed, rather than official, protected status.
“Since the Shirui Kashong area is a proposed National Park, conservation of the same doesn’t fall under the purview of the district forest office,” implied Chermishan ASP, the range forest officer of Ukhrul and Chingai.
Follow us
