Khonoma is a small village nestled in the scenic mountains of the state of Nagaland, in Northeast India. Apart from being known for its rich environment, including forest, paddy fields, cardamom orchards, and high yielding Jhum fields, Khonoma is recognized for its Angami inhabitants - a warrior tribe.

There are fourteen major Naga tribes, including the Angami Naga. There is no caste system among the Nagas or anyone of the non-Naga tribes. But each of the Naga tribes is divided into several, or as many as twenty family clans (khels). In Khonoma, the main decision-making body is the village council, which has 3-4 representatives of each khel plus 3 women members.

Khonoma also has a higher than usual literacy rate, with 6 schools in the village, and has produced many qualified professionals who work outside of the village. Many of these non residents have been included in the key decision-making, and have brought new ideas and resources to the village.

In the 400 years of Khonoma's existence its residents have fought fierce wars with their neighbors, given a remarkably stiff resistance to the British, and later to the Indian armed forces. This has given the village a very prominent place in Nagaland's history. Furthermore, it has produced very influential political leaders representing its people in the Naga separatist movement, as well as in the parliament of India.

In the last 20 years, Khonama has initiated two important community-lead sustainability actions. First in the early 1990s, it banned logging and hunting in its forests, leading the community-conservation movement in Northeast India. And in 2003, it was the first community-lead Ecotourism initiative in the state. These are significant achievements considering logging was a very lucrative business, and hunting, apart from fulfilling livelihood needs, has a special place in Angami culture.

In early 90s the threat posed by rampant logging was quickly grasped by the village council and village elders. In Khonoma all sources of livelihoods were dependent directly or indirectly on the quality of the forest. In the rotating jhum fields, the Alder tree is harvested in such a way that it enables regeneration of trees and fertilizes the land with its fast-decaying leaves and nitrogen-fixing roots - a sustainable practice.

In addition, fundamental needs, like firewood for cooking and heating, and material for construction of shelter, were supplied by the forest. It was realized by elders that uncontrolled forestry practices would threaten the future generations' survival and security. With this understanding the village council persuaded and pressured the logging industry to obey the logging ban in all community forests.

The community decision was reinforced by the 1996 judgment of the Supreme Court of India to ban logging in Northeast India.

But the second initiative - the ban on hunting - wasn't as easy. It took consistent persuasion for three years by the village council members and the villagers led by Thepfulhouvi Angami and Tsilie Sakrie, for the Conservation Sanctuary to take form. During these years, there were many meetings organized to discuss the issue of banning hunting. There were two main reasons for opposition to a hunting ban. First, hunting is an integral part of Angami society, and second, it is an essential source of livelihood for many.

Keeping in view the resistance, it was initially decided to start with ban on hunting of Blyth's Tragopan This pheasant's population is small and is believed to be declining rapidly. (Blyth's Tragopan is located in many different areas including Bhutan through Northeast India, north Myanmar to south-east Tibet, and also China) In order to institutionalize this ban the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS) was established to protect the Tragopan in December 1998.

After two years, in 2000 a total ban on hunting was agreed and imposed by the Khonoma Village Council. The total area covered under hunting ban is 135 sq. km. This area further increased after it was agreed in negotiation with adjoining villages to conserve forest in territorial conflict as protected areas, i.e. a ban on logging and hunting.

These efforts of conservation came to the notice of the tourism development department of Nagaland. To them, the regenerated natural environment linked with the proximity of Khonoma to Kohima (pop. 100,000, the state capital, and largest city in Nagaland), all-season access, and comparatively better infrastructure, cultural heritage, and rich history, was perfect mix for an Ecotourism program.

Towards this end of 2003, Khonoma was selected for funding of the Green Village project by Tourism Department of Nagaland, under a program of the Government of India.

Although the Ecotourism initiative was initiated with government funding, the planning and implementation was lead by community institutions, including the very active student population. Furthermore, Khonoma residents have invested far more than the government budget, and have taken the initiative well beyond the government program.

The continuing success of the conservation and Ecotourism programs comes from their roots as a community initiative. Except for the "infrastructure creation grant" from the Green Village project, the majority of the activities have been funded by the community. And the villagers have been able to make connections to diverse support groups including community organizations, NGOs, and conservation networks, to organize information meetings.

The importance of partnerships was understood by the initial planners of the conservation plan. One of the strategic reasons to select Blyth's Tragopan as key species for conservation, and to name the conservation area the Khonoma Nature Conservation and Tragopan Sanctuary, was to attract partnerships from the public, government, and NGOs. This is because the Tragopan is the state bird of Nagaland. Furthermore it is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

KNCTS has symbolically used the Blythe's Tragopan to appeal to the public, but in practice they have taken the conservation effort beyond the Tragopan, to restoration of the whole ecosystem. The strong sense of ownership, the direct participation by the villagers, and the new livelihood opportunities for its residents through extensive partnerships and income from Ecotourism, will ensure the long-term success of these initiatives.

The success of Khonoma shows that although the original vision was limited to a few individuals, over a period of time it was transformed into a group vision, enabling a change in opinion of the villagers towards a ban on hunting, and the formation of KNCTS under the village council.