ATREE conducted a workshop on 'Policy Consultation on Temperate Alpine Grasslands: Himalayan Perspectives' in Gangtok, Sikkim from April 29th to April 30th, 2019. The workshop was attended by 47 participants and included pertinent stakeholders from rangelands across the Himalayas, from Ladakh, J&K to Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh. 

The policy consultation aimed to make a beginning in compiling information on the conservation and livelihood values of temperate-alpine grasslands. This information will feed into a national-level policy document on grasslands and promote their conservation for sustainable use, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation. The key outputs that emerged were related to policy guidelines on tourism and access to grazing in these landscapes.

Earth Day 2019 Celebrations
 

Commemorating the Earth Day 2019, ATREE's Agasthyamalai Community Conservation Centre, Manimutharu, organized wall painting and ‘Leaf Zoo’ competition for students in Tirunelveli on April 21st and April 22nd, 2019 respectively.  Both the events were organized in collaboration with Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Tirunelveli Division and District Science Centre, Tirunelveli.

50 students from various schools and colleges took part in the wall painting competition which was based on the Earth Day 2019 theme ' Protect Our Species'. They painted lesser known species unique to Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) on the walls of the District Forest Office, Tirunelveli. The species they painted include Jungle Guava, Malabar Tree Nymph, Red-Giant Snail, Flat-faced Seahorse, Chalazodes Bubble-nest Frog, Fan-throated Lizard, Green Sea Turtle, Flame-throated Bulbul and Nilgiri Marten. The paintings also aimed to increase awareness about snakes and included paintings on themes of snake bite prevention, snake bite first-aid, anti-venom treatment and forest fires.

35 participants between the age group 11 to 15 years participated in the ‘Leaf Zoo' competition at District Science Centre, Tirunelveli. They created a variety of creatures like elephant, fish, butterflies and birds with leaves.

A valedictory function was held on April 22nd where Thirumal, IFS, District Forest Officer and Wildlife Warden, Tirunelveli Division and Muthu Kumar, District Science Officer, District Science Centre, Tirunelveli addressed the gathering and distributed certificates to winners.  M. Ganeshan, Founder Director, Sivaram Kalaikoodam, Tirunelveli received a special certificate of appreciation for his efforts in ensuring participation in the wall painting programme.

ATREE Fellow, Shoibal Chakravarty gave a talk on 'India’s Climate Change Policy: An Overview, and Future Challenges' at the third workshop in the Economics of Energy, Environment and Climate at the National School of Development in Peking University, Beijing. The workshop was held on April 6th and April 7th, 2019.

He was also part of a symposium which explored climate change research and action in honour of his mentor, Robert Socolow at the Destiny Studies for a Small Planet in Princeton University on April 14th and April 15th, 2019.  The symposium was a tribute to Robert Socolow's 48 years in environmental problem solving. 

Shoibal was also part of the 18th Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI) Annual Meeting at Princeton University, held between April16th and April 17th, 2019, as an external guest and past member of the CMI. The CMI is a 25 year long research and funding initiative of BP (British Petroleum) to the Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University.

ATREE fellow, Bejoy Thomas, travelled to the University of Waterloo, Canada, recently to participate in the workshop, ‘Toward a Decision Support Tool for Progressive Climate Action: Comparing and Assessing Approaches to Systems and Sustainability’. He also participated in the 60th convention of the International Studies Association (ISA) in Toronto, where a panel was organized on ‘Avoiding the Boomerang Effect: The Consequences of Climate Action in Theory and Practice’.

ATREE Fellow, Abi T Vanak, gave a talk on 'OneHealth: An approach to understanding the ecology of rabies in India'  at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, IISC on April 24th, 2019. 

India has amongst the highest burden of canine-mediated rabies in the world. The failure to control rabies in India is a multi-faceted problem: a lack of systematic surveillance, limited knowledge on rabies dynamics in multi-host systems and poor implementation of mitigation measures. 

In his talk, Abi explored the various facets of this problem, and showed how a OneHealth approach that integrates Ecology allows for a better understanding of rabies dynamics in India and the development of targeted intervention techniques.

ATREE's Sharachchandra Lele, questioning the proposed amendments to the Indian Forest Act, asks that since production is no longer the primary goal of our forests, isn't it about time we define a new role for our Forest Department ? Read More...