Young wildlife enthusiasts come together to celebrate nature and wildlife

Posted on
04 March 2017
World Wildlife Day was celebrated across WWF-India’s landscapes to celebrate the varied forms of flora and fauna in the wild and to raise awareness on the urgent need to address issues related conservation, poaching, habitat degradation and climate change. Concurrent to the theme of 2017 – ‘Listen to the young voices’, WWF India engaged with over 700 students in various parts of the country.

Communities for conservation of Manas National Park (North Bank Landscape)-
WWF India along withManas Ever Welfare Society (MEWS), Department of Forest and Environment, ATREE, Manas Development and Jeep Safari Association, Smiling Tusker and Lodges and Hotels organised a day-long programme at Bansbari range of the park.About 70 students from  villages on the fringes of the park participated in a cleaning drive. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naba Kumar Malakar, Director of Manas National Park suggested that every vehicle entering the park should be provided with a dustbin so that the visitors in the car can keep the waste in it and dispose them in specific spots earmarked for the purpose. WWF-India’s Deba Kumar Dutta urged the youth of the area to contribute in protecting the rich biodiversity of Manas National Park.
 
Engaging with students from Kohora Range of Kaziranga National Park (Kaziranga Karbi Anglong Landscape)
An  awareness programme was organised at KohoraRange in Kaziranga, Assam. Two schools (Shankardev Shishu Niketan and Chandrasing Rongpi High School) participated in the two-hour programme where four short wildlife documentaries were screened . This was followed by a  session where the students wrote  on what they learnt from the videos. Around 200 students, teachers and non-teaching staff and staff from Kaziranga National Park, along with the organizers from WWF-India were present .
Later, the Deputy Conservator of Forests (Kaziranga National Park), Mr Altamas Baig, spoke to the students on the various aspects of nature conservation. Some of the students also spoke on the occasion and thanked WWF-India and their school teachers for giving them the opportunity to learn about wildlife and its importance through this programme.
 
Awareness on the importance of Ranthambore-Kuno Corridor (Western India Tiger Landscape)-
The Western India Tiger Landscape celebrated World Wildlife Day at the Saraswati Vidya Vihar Higher Secondary School in Birpur, Madhya Pradesh. The school is situated in the Ranthambhore-Kuno Corridor, a critical corridor where tigers disperse from Ranthambhore (Rajasthan) to Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (Madhya Pradesh). A total of 300 students and 20 school staff of Saraswati Vidya Vihar Higher Secondary School were part of the celebration. On the occasion, officials of Sheopur Forest Division and WWF India shared information on the conservation work been undertaken to protect the Ranthambore-Kuno corridor. The team also distributed posters on Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC).

Raising awareness on impacts of linear infrastructure (Satpuda Maikal Landscape)
The Satpuda Maikal Landscape is home to diverse flora and fauna. WWF India celebrated this day  in three different areas- Balaghat, Gondia and Bilaspur.At Bilaspur,87 students from various schools were part of a programme organised  in collaboration with the Bilaspur Nature Club. Events held includeda group discussion, a speech on issues related to conservation and a slide presentation on the benefits of conserving the land and wildlife which saw wide participation of the students of the area.

At Gondia, a workshop for about 192 National Green Corps (NGC) teachers was organised in collaboration with the Social Forestry Division Gondia, Bharati Vidhyapeeth Institute of Environment Education and Research, Pune. Mr. Ajinkya Bhatkar of WWF-India spoke  WWF India’s work  in the region and the role eco clubs can play in raising awareness on  wildlife and its protection.

In Balaghat, 15 college students along with two teachers volunteered to raise awareness on the negative effects of feeding Rhesus Macaques along the state highway. Various dignitaries including forest department personnel, WWFIndia staff and members of the local community were present . Experts  spoke about the increasing number of road accidents, changes in the food and habitation patterns of these monkeys, and increasing conflict with the local community. A pledge wall was also signed by the participants, organizers and the travellers on the  route to be more conscious towards conservation efforts. 300 signatures of students, locals and passengers were recorded.

Message on wildlife conservation (Western Ghats Nilgiris Landscape)
In Coimbatore, World Wildlife Day was celebrated at KSIRS International School, Coimbatore, in collaboration with Environment Conservation Group (ECG) which included a film screening and quiz on the wildlife of Western Ghats.About 34 students of the school were part of the programme. Addressing the students, Mr. Saleem, President of ECG  said, “World Wildlife Day gives us one more occasion to celebrate our rich biodiversity, one more event to pledge our concern to protect wildlife. This year's theme "Listen to the young voices" encourages us to make the younger generation ponder over ways to make this planet a safer world for wildlife and listen to their ideas.”
 
In Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, Bhavanisagar Government Middle School hosted an awareness programme. WWF India in collaboration with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve, engaged with about 54 children from the school. Representatives of WWFIndia and partners informed the children on various issues such as the present status of forest and wildlife and human-wildlife conflict. A drawing competition on wildlife and nature theme was also organised.
 
Western Arunachal Landscape
An awareness programme on "Wildlife of Western Arunachal Pradesh and its conservation" was organised in Shergaon Forest Division at Rupa, West Kameng District in Arunachal Pradesh. The programme was spearheaded by Milo Tasser, Divisional Forest Officer, Shergaon Forest Division, Passang Lhamu Khirmey, the Honorary Wildlife Warden, West Kameng, two members of the State Board of Wildlife and a few student interns from North Eastern Regional Insitute of Science and Technology (NERIST). The programme included a presentation on the central theme by Rajarshi Chakraborty, WWF India, a brief presentation by Milo Tasser and a short discussion on way forward for wildlife conservation in the region.

Special Update from Sariska:
Celebrating Sariska’s wildlife heroes
On World Wildlife Day, the hidden wildlife heroes of Sariska were celebrated for their critical contribution to the protection of wild tigers in the Sariska Tiger Reserve.Village headmen, nature guides and local business representatives were felicitated for their tireless efforts towards wildlife conservation . The celebration coincided with WWF’s meeting on global tiger conservation. The international representatives from WWF congratulated the10 distinguished individuals for their outstanding contribution. “Sariska Tiger Reserve has proven itself to be a positive example of tiger conservation, bouncing back from losing all its tigers to supporting a growing population today. As we meet to discuss WWF’s drive towards Tx2 – the global effort to double wild tiger numbers by 2022 – Sariska presents itself as a beacon of success built on trust and collaboration with community leaders,” said Mike Baltzer, Leader of WWF Tigers Alive programme.
 
Message on wildlife conservation (Western Ghats Nilgiris Landscape)
In Mudumalai, located in the Nilgiris district, an awareness program was organised in collaboration with the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Masinagudi Eco-Naturalist Club and Grace Charitable Trust.  A total of around 80 students from schools such as Good Shepherd English Medium School Masinagudi and GTR Middle School, Bopapuram participated in the event along with participants from various NGOs. The event was organised in Theppakkadu Training Center. One of the primary aim of the event was to create awareness on curbing poaching. On the occasion, Mr. Mariyappan, Forest Range Officer, shared with the participants about the various  conservation plans undertaken by the  Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. A field trip was also arranged for the students inside Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.  

 
 Communications Team
Species and Landscapes Programme,
WWF-India
011-41504783

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