NAGPUR: Around 14 participants from tiger range countries, including Bangladesh, Nepal and India, will be participating in the three-week course to learn how to use conservation education as a tool to change the behaviour of various target groups of communities for tiger conservation issues.
This is the first time such a course of international importance aimed at tiger conservation and exploring the media tools and techniques to change the community behaviour has been organized. The course will be inaugurated at 10am on November 11.
Satpuda Foundation in collaboration with Amravati University, state wildlife department, Nature Conservation Society Amravati (NCSA) and Environment Education Conservation Global (EECG), USA, is organizing the course.
Former member of standing committee of National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) Kishor Rithe, who designed this course, said it will be conducted at three places - Amravati University, Melghat Tiger Reserve and Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR).
Pro vice-chancellor of Amravati University Dr Jaikiran Tidke will preside over the function while field director of Melghat D K Tyagi and Edward McCrea, president of Environmental Education and Conservation Global Inc (EECG), a US-based NGO, will be the guests of honour at the inaugural function.
"Complex problems like poaching and wildlife trade and man-wildlife conflict issues will be discussed during this course and use of media tools and effective techniques to address them will be taught to them," said Rithe.
Participants include four delegates from Bangladesh and Nepal and 10 members from Punjab, Assam and Maharashtra, including forest officers. Foreign instructors include Edward McCrea and Deborah Simmons from the US, besides Rithe, Nishikant Kale and Ganesh Vankhede. Guest speakers will include principal secretary (forests) Praveen Pardeshi and senior forest officers.
