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Green warriors converge on capital city

BHUBANESWAR: In a bid to provide greater platform to communities involved in conservation of ecosystem, a three-day unique symposium got under way here on Thursday.

Several community conservation groups better known as ‘green warriors’ reached the capital city to interact with school and college students and public at large about their efforts and how it made a difference in their lives.

Tribal inhabitants of Badrama Wildlife Sanctuary in Sambalpur districts had a lot to share about their experience of assimilating their livelihood options with conservation efforts inside the sanctuary area.

Similarly, representatives Ganjam Mayur Surakhya Samittee, a Peacock Protection Committee, are scheduled to describe their efforts on community led conservation, which helped create a safe haven for the peacocks in Pakidi hill ranges in Ganjam district. Similarly, many green warriors including one from Nagaland have landed here to demonstrate their community level management system towards protecting ecosystem.

The three-day symposium cum exhibition on community conservation initiatives in Orissa was organized by Vasundhara, a city-based non-government organisation, at Exhibition Ground here. There are about 7688 community conservation initiatives identified by different groups in 12,000 forest fringe villages of the State.

Forest researcher Madhu Sarin said, “it is the people from whom we have to learn the most about conservation. Earlier human beings were an integrated part of nature. But subsequently people and nature become two separate entities with the popular paradigm of development.”

The community conservation initiatives should be recognised in policy frameworks, she suggested

Former Vice Chancellor of Ranchi University and noted tribal intellect Ram Dayal Munda said forestland belonged to community living there.

Shramik Jogi, who was instrumental in building up conservation process in Nayagarh district, Director of Vasundhara Dhirendra Panda and Erica Taraporewala from Kalpavrikshwa, a national level NGO, spoke. Students from different schools and colleges have been invited to interact with the green warriors.

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