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Orissa

Generating Awareness about Olive Ridleys Turtles

Orissa, in India, is one of the three mass nesting sites for olive Ridley Sea Turtles in the world. The three such nesting sites on the coast of Orissa are Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulaya.

WWF-India’s State office in Orissa has been actively working on the Rushikulaya Rookery for the last three years. Besides recording the beach erosion during the nesting season, WWF-India has been supporting the State Forest Department by providing manpower for patrolling the beach during the entire period from nesting till hatching - counting the nesting turtles and also protecting the rookery and hatchlings from land and avian predators. This year WWF-India, Orissa, has conducted two projects during the turtle nesting period.

Twelve coastal fishing villages were selected just north and south of the Rushikulaya rookery, which had witnessed sporadic nesting in the past years. The fishermen of these villages mostly use traditional non-mechanized or simple outboard motor boats for fishing. Interactions were held with the community leaders and fishermen heads for each of these 12 villages to sensitize them on certain traditional fishing techniques and fishing nets which are harmful for sea turtles. Signage were installed in the villages depicting ‘threats to sea turtles’ and ‘map demarcating sea zone (near the Rushikulaya turtle rookery) permissible for fishing by the different types of boats.’ Interactions were also held with school children in these villages on the need for sea turtle conservation and how children could help. A group of twenty children were even invited as volunteers (along with two of their teachers) from each village school. They were taken to the beach near their school where they joined WWF-India volunteers in cleaning the beach off nets and other debris, which hampers nesting turtles from coming ashore. These volunteers were gifted Turtle T-shirts and caps, besides the usual refreshments. This activity session was the most rewarding as the children expressed their happiness in being of some real help for the Olive Ridleys. Signage depicting ‘features of Olive Ridleys’ and ‘need for sea turtle conservation’ were installed in each school.

WWF conducts workshop for Chilka boatmen

The Orissa office of WWF-India conducted a three-day workshop on ‘Orientation of Boatmen for Eco Tourism at Chilika Lake through Community Participation’ earlier last month. The project was entrusted by Chilka Development Authority (CDA), as part of their India Canada Environment Facility programme.

The workshop was designed to develop capacity of the boatmen to promote sustainable Eco-tourism in Chilka Lake, educate them about the rules of the sanctuary and other wildlife laws pertaining to the lake.

The workshop saw participation from boatmen, volunteers, local tourist guides from Barkul, Balugaon, Mangalajodi, and Kalupadaghat. Chief Executive of CDA and the Divisional Forest Officer of Balugaon also participated in the workshop.

A guide book for boatmen ferrying tourists in Chilika Lake developed by WWF-India Orissa State Office in Oriya was distributed to the participants on the occasion. The guide book contains information about the lake along with pictures of birds and fishes for easy identification.

National Wildlife Week Celebrations

The Orissa State Office organized and proactively participated in many events to celebrate the 52nd National Wildlife Week.

The major programmes include the ones organized in association with State Forest Department, Regional Museum of Natural History, Bhubhaneshwar, and the NWCSO, a government NGO.

At the state–level Wildlife week celebrations organized at Jayadev Bhavan, WWF was the only NGO invited to put up a photo exhibition of activities on wildlife conservation. The Hon’ble Chief Minister of Orissa spent considerable time at the photo exhibits, understanding and appreciating WWF’s turtle conservation work.

Celebrations organized at the museum had film shows, quizzes and caption –writing competitions. The week-long celebrations saw active participation from school and college students. A talk on “Aspects of Wildlife Conservation” was also organised which was well attended by renowned local personalities.

Happy Birthday, Prachi, Sitesh and Rishi

It was a unique birthday party. There was the usual cake, the candles, the singing of the birthday song, the clapping and the cheering. It was unique because there was a lot of roaring too. The three birthday kids – Prachi, Sitesh and Rishi were doing the roaring. These three white tigers of Nandankanan Zoological Park were celebrating their second birthday. WWF-India, Orissa State Office was privileged to be the only NGO invited by the Wildlife Department as a collaborator in organizing the event on the 1st of August 2006.

The Zoo organized the birthday party with the school children and visitors in front of the tiger’s enclosure. The Chief Wildlife Warden cut the cake and the school children sang ‘Happy Birthday’ for the three tigers. The tigers were gifted with a special treat of goat’s meat instead of the usual buffalo meat. There also received gifts – a bamboo bed and a swing. WWF-India held a quiz competition among the school children, on tigers, and the Chief Wildlife Warden along with the State Director distributed prizes to the winners and participants. A talk on the present tiger scenario in the country was presented by Dr. Lala A.K. Singh, Senior Research Officer with the Wildlife Wing. The motive of organizing the event was to create awareness and love and affection for animals. The Zoo will hold regular birthday parties for different inmates of the zoo.

We hope to continue collaborating with the Zoo in their unique birthday bash which will be done on a regular basis for the different animals in the zoo.

Vanmahotsav Celebrations

The Orissa state office of WWF-India celebrated the 57th Vanmahotsav on the July 4, 2006, in collaboration with the Nandankanan Zoological Park at the Nandankanan High School.

Shri A C Dinakar, IFS, Deputy Director of the Zoo, and Shri A K Mishra, Assistant Conservator of Forests, also participated in the celebrations that saw hundreds of school children joining hands with WWF to learn the importance of environment and conservation.

Following a group discussion on the importance of protection, preservation and propagation of forests, the students were encouraged to plant saplings in their school premises.

The State Office also conducted one-day training on solid waste management for the school students. The training was organized with the support of NEAC 2006 programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Government of India.

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