News and Information

Chunakhan, Uttarakhand: The World Tourism Day was celebrated by the Uttarakhand Forest Department at the Centre for Ecotourism and Sustainable Livelihoods, Chunakhan on September 27, 2011. On the occasion, was launched the Green Hiker sticker for vehicles jointly produced by WWF-India and the Uttarakhand Forest Department. Conceived and designed by WWF-India, the colourful, eye-catching sticker aims at raising awareness amongst tourists on the importance of protecting the environment and respecting local culture and practices.

The participants of the first state-wide Nature Guide Training programme were honoured with certificates and Green Hiker collateral on completion of their training.

A brief presentation on the Green Hiker Campaign was made by Dr. Jatinder Kaur, Coordinator, Uttarakhand Programme office. The Vehicle Stickers were appreciated by the forest department and guests present and were put on vehicles by Rajiv Bhartri, Chief Conservator of Forests, Ecotourism; C.K. Kavidhayal, Deputy Director, CTR; Nishant Verma and Ramesh Chandra, DFO.

The north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is home to diverse landscapes and habitats that harbour a variety of wildlife including the snow leopard and red panda.
 
As part of WWF’s Saving Wetlands Sky High Programme, a baseline survey was undertaken between August 24 and September 6, 2010 in the Nagula Wetland Complex. This was done by the forest department officials, researchers from G.B. Pant Institute of Himalayan Environment and Development of the North East Unit (Itanagar), ornithologists and local guides, along with WWF-India’s team in Arunachal. Read more...

The State Council for Science, Technology and Environment and the Department of Environment, Himachal Pradesh (H.P.) celebrated World Environment Day on June 5, 2010, at the Government Senior Secondary Girls School in Portmore, Shimla. On this occasion, Chief Guest, Additional Chief Secretary (Env., Sc. & Tech.), Government of H.P, Mrs. Sarogini Ganju Thakur, unveiled two series of posters – one, the High Altitude Wetlands of Himachal Pradesh and High Altitude Flora of Himachal Pradesh, and two, the Dos and Don’ts to Conserve Wetlands. These posters are part of WWF’s ‘Saving Wetlands Sky High!’ initiative and were produced in collaborations with the State Council for Science Technology and Environment, H.P. and the State Department of Forests. 

Every year, on May 8 and 9, World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated across the globe to highlight the importance of conserving migratory birds and their habitats. This year, WWF-India in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Protection, Government of Jammu & Kashmir organised an awareness camp for the school students of Ladakh. As part of this, an inter-school painting competition on the theme ‘Migratory Birds and their Habitat’ was organised at Lamdon Model Senior Secondary School, Leh.

In addition, the children were taken on a bird watching trip to Shey Marshes near Leh, where were introduced to various bird watching techniques. They got to see various migratory birds which visit Ladakh in the summer months.

The camp helped the children learn about migratory birds and their habitats in high altitude areas like Ladakh. The programme was coordinated by Ms. Nisa Khatoon and Mr. Phuntsog Tashi, Project officers at the WWF-India Field Office at Leh.

At present, migratory birds are under severe threat due to habitat degradation owing to unplanned developmental activities and the emerging problem of climate change.