New Delhi, January 22, 2015: An International Field Experience programme, jointly organising by Global Tiger Forum (GTF) and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (V-Tech), ended on a positive note. Part of a larger project, Conduct a Cross-sector Assessment of sustainable livelihood programs in the western Terai-Arc Tiger Conservation Landscape (Rajaji-Corbett), Uttarakhand, eight students and a coordinator from the V-Tech University visited the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and Indian Council for Forest Research and Education (ICFRE) in Dehradun. The students interacted with government officials and representatives of civil society involved in the protected area management and sustainable livelihood programmes being run in Rajaji-Corbett Landscape.

Students posing for a photograph with the
experts. Photo: GTF team

The programme began with an interactive session between students and experts at India Habitat Centre on January 6, 2015. Dr Rajesh Gopal, Member Secretary, National Tiger Conservation Authority, and Secretary General, GTF, discussed several facets of tiger conservation initiatives in India and also the role of GTF in the tiger conservation internationally. Dr Rahul Kaul, Senior Ecologist, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), spoke on various ongoing activities of WTI on sustainable livelihood programmes being run in the Rajaji-Corbett landscape.

Dr Rahul Kaul talking about WTI at the meeting.
Photo: Aniruddha/ WTI-GTF

He also discussed how WTI and its partner, International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), are engaged in programmes that aim to motivate local communities for tiger conservation in Valmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar and Nagzira-Navegaon corridor in Maharashtra. Dr Kaul was delighted to interact with groups of young and enthusiastic students and said, “It was a significant interaction in making students understand the importance of tiger conservation and the role government and non-profit organisations play in saving this magnificent species. They also got to know how communities play a crucial role in conserving the tiger and how important it is to make them stakeholders in such conservation activities.”

India holds 70% of the world’s tiger population and is home to more than 1.2 billion people. “Therefore, conservation activities in human-dominated landscape in India can be a model for other human dominated forests in Tiger Range Countries,” said Dr Aniruddha Majumdar, Technical Officer, GTF-WTI.