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| International Tiger Day celebrations with villagers and Forest Department staff |
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| Awaleghat students and teachers participating in the plantation program |
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| Field Assistant Balkrishna leading villagers on a forest patrol |
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| Conservation Officer Bandu teaches children the importance of trees during the plantation program in Ghatpendari |
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| Conservation Officer Bandu with candidates selected for the tailoring training program |
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| Field Assistant Dilip speaks to villagers about vocational training programs |
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| Sawara students in our IT education class |
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| Digging a soak pit at Wagholi |
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| Balkrishna with Forest Department staff and trainers during an exposure visit to livelihood training institutes |
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| Balkrishna telling Self Help Group members about the opportunities for making paper and cloth bags |
THE FULL REPORT
Team: Abhijit Dutta – Assistant Director (Conservation)
Bandu Uikey –
Conservation
Officer
Dilip Lanjewar, Balkrishna Bagmare – Community
Officers
Highlights
·
Two community foot patrols
·
Eleven plantation programs - 225 saplings
planted with 305 participants
·
Four conservation rallies
·
Celebrated International Tiger Day 2018
·
Fifteen school education programs - 430
students participated
·
Six film shows - 220 students participated
·
IT education program resumed at Sawara after
summer break
·
Twenty young villagers shortlisted and sent
for livelihood training programs in driving, tailoring, hospitality, etc.
funded by Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation
·
Seven meetings on various livelihood options
·
Mobilised young villagers for Forest Dept.’s
livelihood workshop and exposure visit to training institutes in Chhindwara
·
One research project on snakes underway
On July 21, Dilip organised a voluntary work program to
prepare a soak pit in Wagholi village. Villagers volunteered to prepare the
soak pit along with Dilip after he explained the importance of water
conservation and need to improve ground water level with the help of soil and
water conservation structures like the soak pit. The villagers prepared the
soak-pit from which the excess water, mostly grey water from a village hand pump,
now percolates into the ground.
On July 21, Balkrishna organised a
plastic litter collection drive in Chargaon village. During the voluntary work
program, Balkrishna explained the hazards of plastic waste for both environment
and human health.
Balkrishna explained to the
villagers that plastic and non-degradable waste was causing irreparable damage
to the ecosystem and adversely affecting birds and other life forms. He also
told them that the waste was equally harmful to people. He brought to the
notice of the villagers the large amount of plastic waste along the road
leading to the school and in the village.
Later, the villagers volunteered
along with school students and cleaned the plastic litter in the village and
along the road.
During the month of July, our team
carried out 11 plantation programs in which a total of 225 saplings were
planted. The saplings belonged to various species of plants like Imli, Subabul, Neem, karanj, amla, peepal,
sitaphal, banyan, char, Gulmohar.
In one such program on July 3, in Ghatpendari,
Bandu planted 20 saplings with school students and teachers in the village
community land and celebrated the Van Mahotsav week with the students. He
informed the students about the importance of tree plantation and guided them
on looking after the planted saplings so that their survival is ensured.
On July 11, Balkrishna conducted a
similar program in Awaleghat with villagers and students where the team planted
15 saplings.
Similar programs were conducted by
Dilip in East Pench and by Balkrishna in West Pench.
The table below gives details of
the programs.
On July 6, Balkrishna led a team of 10 Village
Eco-development Committee (VEDC) members from Siladevi village on a foot patrol
in the forest area near their village.
The VEDC members looked out for
signs of illegal tree felling or poaching during the patrol. No such illegal
activities were detected.
Balkrishna joined the Forest Department
staff on a foot patrol in the Ambazari beat on July 8.
These community-based patrols are supplemental
to the regular patrols being done by the staff of the Forest Department.
On a request by the Range Forest
Officer Nagalwadi (RFO), we prepared a poster to promote awareness about human-leopard
conflict mitigation strategies that will be displayed in buffer zone villages
of Nagalwadi range soon.
On July 12, Bandu organised a meeting in Siladevi to explain to the
villagers the process for formation of a village eco-development committee
(VEDC) and the benefits that accrue to the village because of the committee. Bandu
read out the Government Resolution (GR) and explained how VEDC formation in
some villages has helped in village development and in reduction of conflict
through funds utilised from Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Jan-Van Yojna.
On July 28, Dilip celebrated Nature Conservation Day with the Forest Department
by taking students and teachers from Dahoda and Patrai villages for a nature
trail to Khapa.
On July 29, International Tiger Day was celebrated by Balkrishna in
Chargaon, Siladevi and Suwardhara by organising a conservation rally with the Forest
Department and villagers.
Environment Education
School Education Programs
In July, a total of 15 school education programs were
conducted by Dilip and Balkrishna in which students were given lectures on
man-animal conflict, biodiversity conservation, climate change and other issues
related to nature conservation.
A total of 430 students attended these programs.
IT Education Program
Satpuda Foundation
has donated desktops as well as laptops to the Zilla Parishad School in Sawara
village and has been conducting an IT education program for the students free of
cost since 2013. Basic computer skills are taught to the students to make them
feel comfortable with technology and improve their IT skills. Sita Uikey, a
resident of Sawara village works on an honorarium basis for Satpuda Foundation
to impart IT education to students. Four such classes were held in the month of
July in ZP School, Sawara for the students of this village.
Education Van Program
The education van held six wildlife movie screenings in
July.
A total of 220 students attended these programs.
The focus this month was on awareness about snakes as
villagers encounter snakes more often during the monsoon.
Bandu explained to the
students and teachers about the behavior of snakes, the reason for them venturing into houses during the monsoons and the action to be taken if a snake is
spotted inside human settlements.
He also helped them
differentiate between venomous and non-venomous snakes by showing a movie and
through a PowerPoint presentation.
He requested students not to panic or kill any snake found
inside or in the vicinity of a house. He instructed them to call the forest
guard or a certified snake handler.
Employment Cell
Sunil Tumdam from Siladevi was sent by us in June to RSETI
(Rural Self-Employment Training Institute) at Nagpur for a ten-day training program
in poultry farming. He has now invested Rs. 20,000 to start poultry farming in
his house.
He was encouraged by Bandu to take up the initiative as Parseoni
provides a big market for poultry. He learned key points for setting up his
farm from RSETI’s training and thanked us for sending him to the program.
During July 2018, our team shortlisted young villagers from
buffer zone villages for various residential livelihood training programs like
driving, JCB operator, tailoring, motor-mechanic, electrician, etc. funded by
the Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation.
The Deputy Director of Pench Tiger Reserve had earlier asked
our team to submit lists of candidates from villages to the respective Range
Forest Officers (RFOs).
In July, our team identified
20 young villagers from various villages. The details are given below.
Young villagers informed,
mobilised, encouraged and sent for livelihood training programs funded by Pench
Tiger Conservation Foundation:
On July 13, Balkrishna conducted a
meeting with Self-Help Group (SHG) members of Suwardhara. He encouraged them to
undergo training to make and sell
cloth and paper bags and cash in on the state government’s ban on plastic (polythene)
bags.
Dilip conducted livelihood meetings in Ghoti, Kadbikheda, Sawara and Kirangisarra
in July to encourage young villagers to register for livelihood training
programs in Nagpur and Chhindwara. Officials from CII Skill training institute
and PACE hospitality training center accompanied Dilip to various villages in
East Pench to motivate the young villagers.
Other livelihood activities meetings:
On July 24, the Pench Tiger Conservation Foundation arranged
for an exposure visit for young villagers to livelihood training institutes in
Chhindwara.
Balkrishna mobilised young villagers from West Pench and
accompanied them to these institutes.
On July 30, the Forest Department conducted a livelihood
workshop for youth where officials from training institutes presented their
courses.
Balkrishna mobilised young villagers for this program from
West Pench and attended this workshop.
Research
A field survey on recording snakes, incidence of sighting
them and incidence of snake bites in buffer zone villages is currently
under way. This study will help us in preparing a checklist of snakes for Pench
Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra and will also help in noting the snake species that
are more prone to come into contact with humans. The study will conclude in
November 2018.
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