Declared a sanctuary in 2004, Amchang incorporates some 78.64 kilometres in which are found several schedule-1 species, like the elephant, tiger, leopard, gaur and hoolock gibbon. Moreover, it is home to a wide variety of flora, some of which are rare and facing extinction. The sanctuary is also well-known for its diverse bird life.

Its forest cover has acted as a carbon sink for polluted air emanating from the city, a reason why the sanctuary has been considered essential for the well-being of the region’s population.

However, human interference is emerging as a threat to the sanctuary and according to several environmental groups, the time has come to take thorough protective measures. They feel that the Forest Department is not doing enough to reduce the threats, which include poaching, illegal extraction of timber and encroachment.

The Forest Department at present has a skeletal presence to watch over the sanctuary. It maintains a beat office at Narengi, and four camps, which have two people each. Clearly, the manpower shortage allows illegal activities to flourish inside the sanctuary.

There have been worrying reports that there are a large number of unlicensed guns with some people residing in the sanctuary’s periphery. Some of these weapons have been used to slaughter wildlife. It has also been stated that some unscrupulous elements, among them one who had served a jail sentence for poaching, have been freely moving in and out of the sanctuary.

Unlawful production of charcoal inside the sanctuary is another concern that has not been addressed so far. There are real fears that continuing production of charcoal would irreparably harm some sections of forest.

Equally damaging has been the extraction of timber from the sanctuary. Every morning chopped wood from Amchang finds its way to the nearby areas. The extraction of firewood has even destroyed immature trees, which is likely to have an adverse effect on the region’s ecology and environment.