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WWF training for Himachal youth as guides

     Pong Dam (Himachal Pradesh): The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has taken the youth in Himachal Pradesh to work as tourist guides. The Pong Dam Bird Sanctuary receives thousands of winged guests between September and March every year, presenting a huge delight for both nature lovers and tourists. Despite the huge tourism potential, the region lacks in well- informed guides. However, this gap will be filled soon, courtesy a joint collaboration of the WWF and the State Tourism authorities to train youths. Besides guiding tourists, this will be a combined effort to conserve the environment as well. "These programmes are capacity building programmes for environment conservation. This program, which is being organised by WWF and sponsored by Himachal Tourism Department, is a 10-day program for bird watching. We have invited 20 local youth to participate in the program. All youth are given different type of study material, so that they are acquainted with birds, migration habits, behaviour especially of the migratory birds that come to Pong Dam," WWF State Director Vandana Tapriyal said. Twenty young men and women from the State's Kangra valley are currently being taught the intricacies of bird tracking, behaviour patterns and the like. The ten-day training, the WWF hopes, will equip them to take tourists on an informative tour of the region. "Earlier, we had very little knowledge about birds or their species, despite the fact that we are local residents. But ever since we have become involved with the program, we have learnt a lot about birds," Praveen, a local youth receiving training, said. Plunging temperatures and freezing lakes in their native lands bring countless migratory birds southwards annually. In India, the annual migration of rare and exotic birds from the high altitudes of Siberia, Afghanistan, China, Central Asia and Northern Europe begins around September, with most birds nestling across the Indian wetlands till March.

      Last month, the WWF said in a report that unchecked climate change could force up to 72 per cent of bird species in some areas into extinction, though the world still has a chance to limit the losses. The new study says birds are highly sensitive to changing weather conditions, and many are already being affected badly. The WWF further says that birds have a way of indicating that global warming has set in.
-Dec 11,  2006

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