With ecological services of rivers being the theme of the seventh Himalaya Day, the Wildlife Insittute of India (WII) commemorated the occasion by organising a training-cum-conservation awareness workshop on the ecological services of the Himalayan rivers. The event was organised on the bank of the Nayar river in Pauri district which is considered to be one of the most important rivers for the conservation of Golden Mahseer fish in Uttarakhand, said institute scientist K Sivakumar.
Addressing the gathering on the occasion, the principal of Bilkhet inter-college, Hem Chandra Kestwal elicited focus on the vital importance of Himalaya while also referring to the role of school students and teachers in the conservation of the Nayar river.
Expressing his views, scientist from the WII, S Sathyakumar recalled the purpose of celebrating the Himalaya Day. He also elicited focus on the need to spread awareness especially among the segment of students and youth to save the rivers.
Speaking on the occasion, the forest department’s conservator of forests, Garhwal, Girish Kumar Rastogi shared his experiences on biodiversity conservation and the need for collaborating with the local communities to save the rivers and its fauna.
The Garhwal Central University, Pauri campus head of the zoology department, Dr Anoop Dobrial addressed the gathering recalling his varied experiences related to rivers and their conservation. He also emphasised on the need and importance of the monitoring of the river and its eco-system especially by the local youth.
On the occasion, another scientist from the wildlife institute, Dr JA Johnson conducted a hands-on training session on the river bank of Nayar. All the participants were then divided into groups and provided hand-on training on river habitat quality assessment and restoration techniques. They were also provided explanation of the harmful effects of destructive fishing and dredging apart from which various scientific techniques were also focused upon. Delivering the closing remarks at the conclusion of the programme, scientist from the WII, Dr VP Uniyal further stressed on the need and importance of organising similar workshops and training programmes especially for the youth in the future.
It should be mentioned here that the Himalaya Day has been commemorated annually on September 9 since 2010 to create public awareness to save the Himalayan range as it provides life line for millions of people living in the mountains and in the northern plains of India. Till date, the institute has organised training workshops, talks and seminars every year to mark the occasion of Himalaya Day. The workshop this year was organised under the National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem project funded by Department of Science and Technology, government of India. A total of 50 participants comprising of school students, forest officials and staff from Uttarakhand Forest Department along with the representatives of the local fishing community of the area were also among those who participated in this workshop.