Aaranyak Hosts Workshop on Conservation Education for Manas Landscape at MCOC Near Manas National Park

Guwahati: Region’s premier biodiversity conservation organisation Aaranyak organized a two-day consultation workshop for planning Conservation Education for Manas Landscape at its Manas Conservation and Outreach Centre (MCOC) situated near Manas National Park.

During the workshop held from July 13-14, conservation educationists, education practitioner, natural resource management specialists, habitat conservation experts, culture and folklore experts and social scientists from Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) actively participated and brainstormed on the Bodo traditional knowledge system and its association with nature. The initiative is supported by IUCN-KfW.

Notable experts from the area Dr Rustam Brahma from Bodoland University, Dr Gaurisankar Narzary from Kokrajhar Government College, Dilip Narzary, a cultural activist and accredited folk dance trainer of Bodo Cultural Society and Chandra Kanta Basumatary, former president, Manas Maozigendri Ecotourism Society (MMES) former Brand Ambassador, Forest & Environment Department, Assam attended the workshop.

The programme is an initiative of the Participatory Natural Resource Management (PNRM) Programme under the Tiger Research and Conservation Division (TRCD) of Aaranyak, and Dr M Firoz Ahmed, Scientist F & Head of the Division, also participated in the workshop. The programme was also enriched by various other senior conservation biologists of Aaranyak. The entire programme was moderated by Dr Jayanta Kumar Sarma, Senior Project Coordinator, Natural Resource management (NRM), TRCD, Aaranyak and Dr Simanta Kalita, CE expert.

Day one of the workshop commenced with a welcome address by Dr Ahmed, who highlighted that Aaranyak has been working closely with the communities around Manas National Park to address the conservation challenges in the region and stressed the key role played by dedicated conservation education campaigns during 2016-2022 in resurrecting the old glory of the World Heritage Site through the prolonged effort of all the stakeholders.  He highlighted the important contribution of the Bodo folklore “Sandw Baudiyani Dukhu” that was enacted as a forum theatre during the conservation education campaigns with stakeholders and was supported by IUCN-KfW.

The keynote address was delivered by Chandra Kanta Basumatary. Basumatary shared that Manas had experienced a decline in its glorious nature following the political upheaval during the 1990s. However, as situations improved communities came forward and worked incessantly, with the support of different non-government organisations and the Forest and Environment Department to ensure the revival of Manas’s natural wealth, and MMES was at the forefront of this revival, stated a press release.    

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