New Delhi: Eight Tibetans chosen by WTI and Care for the Wild International to spread conservation awareness in Tibetan settlements got a chance to participate in an exciting three-day wildlife tour to one of India’s oldest National Parks.

Their visit to Jim Corbett National Park from April 3 to 5 gave them an opportunity to participate in different stimulating educational activities.

These participants were from the Tibetan settlements in three Indian states of Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.

Besides visiting the attractions of the park, wildlife quiz, talks on community participation in wildlife management and bio-diversity conservation were organized.

In a novel way, they were given lessons on diverse elements of flora and fauna to gain insights of the uniqueness of each wild species and their behaviours.

“Who am I” – a game originally developed by the Centre for Environment Education, Ahmedabad was played out to help them use deductive logic in identifying diverse elements of nature.

“The idea was to give them an opportunity to be close to the nature so that they can carry back their experiences and tell others why they should conserve nature.” Dr. Prabal Sarkar of WTI who went with the group as a facilitator, said.

The participants also had the chance to see tiger, deer, wild boar, peafowl, Hanuman langur, rhesus macaque, and different species of avian fauna during their trips to the park.

“It was a wonderful experience. I will go back and share this experience with others.” Gen Jamphel, a Tibetan Buddhist monk from Mundgod in Karnataka who was one of the participants, said.

Another participant, a class XI student from the Central School for Tibetans in Mussoorie said the trip was useful who has been spreading the conservation message in Tibetan settlements in Dehradun and Mussoorie.

This initiative was part of the Tibetan Conservation Awareness Campaign (TCAC) launched by Wildlife Trust of India and CWI in conjunction with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 2005 to stop the use of wildlife products.

“We have selected one person – as an educator – in each Tibetan settlement across the country to spread awareness for wildlife conservation. This group of eight is the first to participate. Educators from other settlements will also participate in similar programmes in the near future.” Pasang Lhamu, Programme Officer of the Campaign said.

WTI and CWI have identified 50 Tibetan settlements across the country for spreading awareness for conservation and for discouraging the use of wildlife products.