NAGAON: A two-day long international workshop on “Ecosystem and Wildlife of Assam” was hosted on September 26 and September 27 at Nowgong Girls’ College in collaboration with Pollution Control Board, Assam & Aranyak. The sponsors of the event were NRL, PCB, Kaziranga National Park, Kaziranga Tiger Reserve, Dalmia and Aranyak.
The workshop was attended not only by the faculties and students of the host institute, but also the students and faculties of the nearby colleges along with many regional and national experts in the field.
The workshop was inaugurated by Principal of Nowgong Girls’ College, Dr Kulen Ch Das, along with Dr Parimal Chandra Bhattacharjee, Retd Professor and HoD, Department of Zoology, Gauhati University, M K Ranjit Singh, author and authority on wildlife and nature conservation.
The workshop began with a welcome address delivered by the principal of the college where he addressed the pressing issues of environmental conservation, referencing historical hunting practices by Maharajas that contributed to mass extinctions, and stressed the need of sustainable development for future generations.
The keynote speaker of the workshop was M K Ranjit Singh, Retd. IAS, Deputy Secretary, Indian Wildlife. In his speech, he underscored the crucial role of women in environmental decision-making and sustainable ecosystem management, drawing from his civil service experiences and public engagement on issues such as human-animal conflict in Northeast India.
The second day of the workshop was attended by Dr Arup Misra, Chairman, Pollution Control Board, Assam where he emphasized the rich biodiversity of Assam and spoke about the work of Madhav Gadgil and the extinction of species. He forewarned of the impending man-made sixth great extinction disaster and underlined the importance of fostering youth engagement as well as integration of science, technology, and ecological knowledge.
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