Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has launched the fifth training program under the Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme in Chilika Lake, a Ramsar Site in Odisha on 6th January 2024.
About Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme:
i.MoEF&CC launched the Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme for development of local community members around different Ramsar sites in order to strengthen nature tourism at these sites and provide alternative livelihood to the local community.
- Capacity building is the main part of the Amrit Dharohar scheme which promotes unique conservation values of Ramsar Sites.
ii.In the first phase of the Capacity Building Scheme, five priority Ramsar sites were identified namely Sultanpur National Park(Haryana), Sirpur Wetland (Madhya Pradesh), Yashwant Sagar(Madhya Pradesh), Bhitarkanika National Park(Odisha), and Chilika Lake( Odisha).
- Out of five sites, the training programmes for Sultanpur National Park, Sirpur Wetland, and Yashwant Sagar were completed in December 2023. The fourth was completed in Bhitarkanika National Park on January 5, 2024.
iii.The implementation of Amrit Dharohar commenced on June 5, 2023 on the occasion of World Environment Day 2023 and will be continued till June 5, 2026.
About the training program in Chilika Lake:
i. Under this initiative, two training programmes of 15 days each namely the Alternative Livelihood program (ALP), and the Paryatan Navik Certificate (PNC) will be conducted.
ii.With the help of the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) a total of 60 participants (30 for each course) were identified for the program and certified them as nature-guides.
Note:
i.Chilika Lake in Odisha and Keoladeo National Park in Rajasthan were recognised as the first Ramsar sites in India.
ii.Chilika Lake is the largest brackish water lake in Asia.
About Ramsar Bureau:
Secretary General – Musonda Mumba
Headquarters – Gland, Switzerland
i.Ramsar Sites are wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (1971). It is named after the city of Ramsar in Iran.
ii.As of January 2024, there are 75 Ramsar Sites in India.
Click here to view full list of Ramsar sites
