Celebration of World Wetland Day

World Wetlands Day is celebrated internationally each year on 2nd February, which marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2nd February 1971. With an aim to raise public awareness about wetland values and benefits, Wildlife Conservation Nepal in collaboration with DNPWC, CSUWN, IUCN, NTNC, ICIMOD, BCN, WWF and BCSWN celebrated the World Wetlands Day 2009.

Since 2005, WCN has been organizing Taudaha Jamboree every year at Taudaha, a wetland of international importance. This year, 5th Taudaha Jamboree was celebrated with different activities like: Nature hike, cleaning campaign and art competition. Forty-six students from seven different schools of Kathmandu and Lalitpur participated in the art competition organized at Taudaha. Students exhibited their skills by painting beautiful pictures on the theme “Upstream Downstream: Wetlands connect us all” which was the slogan for World Wetlands Day, this year. A group of volunteers from WCN participated in a cleaning campaign on the periphery of Taudaha. They also took part in nature hike to Boson Hill. The whole program was followed by a closing session where volunteers and participants of art competition shared their experience and briefed the activities carried out on that day. 

Awareness program in Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve

Previously famous for hunting reserve and now gazetted as wildlife reserve, Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve is situated in southern part of far-west Nepal in Kanchanpur district.The reserve is the habitat for large herd of Swamp deer, a tiger prey species. This area is known as the prime habitat of Royal Bengal tiger. Due to encroachment by landless people, the reserve is under intense pressure. Also as the reserve in the south extends to India with an open border,  this area is also vulnerable due to increasing poaching activities. Human-wildlife conflict is another serious threat in the protection of wildlife.


WCN, one of the leading organization in the field of environment and wildlife conservation, has launched Environment Conservation Awareness Program- ECAP in its buffer zone area. WCN ECAP is conducting various awareness program in order to instigate values of conservation to the communities residing in the buffer zone area of the reserve. Various awareness campiagns are being conducted in coordination with Suklaphanta Wildlife Reserve, Buffer Zone Management Council and other major stakeholders.


WCN ECAP conducted a two day workshop in the schools near the reserve where the students learnt  about various conservation tools through activities such as hands on experience, documentaries and presentations. Each program was facilitated by WCN team members which mainly focused on biodiversity conservation, tiger and its prey species-the deer.
Further community awareness programs are underway to help and raise awareness in  the local communities to help reduce the pressure in the reserve.

           


                                                  

                                                Students from different schools during the ECAP two day workshop




 

Awareness program in Pokhara

WCN team conducted a community awareness program in Pokhara to the "Jalari Community "- a community based entirely on Phewa Lake for sustaining life on 24th September 2007.During the program importance of biodiversity, conservation values and various environmental issues were discussed. Different groups prepared resource map of surrounding areas of Phewa Lake after discussing with group members. During the discussion locals mainly focused on the current problems of the Phewa Lake like invasive species Water Hyacinth, water pollution due to household discharge and sediment due to erosion.Different films on living in harmony with nature were also screened for the community members. Khapaudi and Pame areas of Phewa Lake's shoreline have been seriously affected by the landslides cause d by heavy off season monsoon this September. The community is struggling to rebuild their homes and lives once again.


                          
The community members making a resource map                          The Jalari Community along with WCN staffs and
 along with WCN volunteers                                                              volunteers
                                                                  
                                

ECAP in Kaski District

ECAP (Environment Conservation Awareness Program) was conducted in the different schools of Kaski districts in September, 2007. More than a thousand students of different private and public schools of Kaski district benefited from this outreach program. Pokhara, a well known tourist destination of Kaski district which is also known as the city of lakes, lies 200 kilometers west of the Kathmandu. The outreach program in Pokhara was mainly focused on the importance of biodiversity conservation and effect of climate change in the Himalayan region. Students debated on various environmental topics and also made impressive presentations regarding biodiversity conservation and environmental problem amongst friends, colleagues, school principals, teachers and WCN team members at the end of the day.

          
                                                                  The students participating in the workshop                                   

Story writing competition

A story writing competition, 'The Adventures of Pawankali and Punte' focused on elephant conservation was conducted in Jhapa and Morang districts of Eastern Nepal. The competition was focused on understanding the outlook of the community and students on wild elephants and to promote youth towards conservation of these endangered animals. A total of 146 students from 16 different schools of two districts participated in the competition. The winner of the competition is to be awarded a one year WCN student scholarship.