Situation

(A) Gidhwa-Parsada , Bemetara District:-

Situation —

* Irregular availability of water in the wetlands due to drought led to loss of habitat for local and migratory birds.

* Lack of awareness among the villagers about wetlands and birds

* Lack of people’s participation in the conservation of wetlands.

* Hunting of wetland birds.

(B) Keshkal, Kondagaon District:-

Situation —

* Keshkal is bestowed with lush green forests , lofty mountains, vast Plateaus, mesmerizing waterfalls, tribal culture etc having high potential for ecotourism.

* Lack of awareness and participation of local tribal communities about conservation of wildlife and forests.

* Unemployment problem among the local population.

* Bird killing using catapult by school going children in villages

* Hunting of wild animals by pardhi tribes and others.

Response

(A) Gidhwa-Parsada , Bemetara District:-

Intervention —

* Motivated local villagers for conservation of wetlands and migratory birds

* Engaged local youth volunteers, non -governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Nova Nature Welfare Society, Crow Foundation, Jashpur Wildlife Welfare Foundation, Unexplored Bastar etc for this cause.

* Initiated the concept of bird festival as a part of village festival.

 (YouTube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKlXmSIZH24)

* Imparted training to local villagers and youths to become ecotourism guide and birder

* Activated local biodiversity management committees to conserve wetland and run sustainable ecotourism.

* Coordinated with the water resource department to ensure water availability through watershed management.

(B) Keshkal, Kondagaon District:-

Intervention —

* Conducted regular meetings with tribal communities and other traditional forest dwellers and apprised them about the potential of ecotourism by conservation of forest and wildlife.

* Started a concept of JAL JUNGLE YATRA ( water-forest journey ) wherein staff of the forest department along with local villagers, youth and children would trek in the jungle for 5-10 km on every weekend to know about the importance of forest and wildlife.

(YouTube Link for JAL JUNGLE YATRA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfdZn2ZeIts)

* Created a circuit of ecotourism places in keshkal and engaged local youths for promotion of ecotourism through website and social media platforms.

( Keshkal Ecotourism Website: https://www.keshkalecotourism.com/ )

* Started a campaign on CHIDIYA MITAN (friend of birds) to create a network of school children in every village for the protection of birds.

* Engaged local tribal youths in the ecotourism activities like tent camping, trekking, bird watching.

* Pardhi tribe youths involved in Bow and arrow adventure activity in the ecotourism site in Tatamari.

* Imparted training to tribal youths on hospitality, ecotourism management, naturalist to work in ecotourism.

Result

(A) Gidhwa-Parsada , Bemetara District:-

Outcomes —

* Network of 6 wetlands formed in adjoining five villages .

* Active participation of local villagers and biodiversity management is visible.

* Local youths now act as guides for bird tourists.

* Demonstration Effect: Nearby villages also came forward to conserve wetland and birds of their area.

* Local women self help groups (SHGs) work for the management and cleanliness of wetlands on a weekly basis.

* Complete restriction on hunting of wetland birds.

* Other districts like Bilaspur got inspired and celebrated bird festival

Ongoing Efforts in Gidhwa-Parsada —

* Self Sustained Ecotourism Model: The Forest Department is making efforts to motivate Biodiversity Management Committees to conserve these wetlands and run ecotourism by the local communities itself.

* After the declaration of the Gidhwa - Parsada as Ramsar Site , the region would get a boost for more comprehensive Wetland Conservation. A proposal is being made in this regard by Chhattisgarh Forest Department.

(B) Keshkal, Kondagaon District:-

Outcome :-

* Received a overwhelming response from various eco-tourists and keshkal emerged as the most sought after ecotourism destination in Chhattisgarh.

* Local tribal communities started actively participating in forest and wildlife conservation.

* Hunters of wildlife ( pardhi tribe) became the protector of forest and wildlife.

* Sustainable livelihood was secured through ecotourism for local tribal communities.

* This led to increase of awareness among tribal communities to save forest and wildlife for their sustenance.

* Nayanar Model of Forest Protection: Other villages like Nayanar started taking their own initiative for forest protection.

( YouTube Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzFcO4F8klQ )

Details

For further details please refer the Attached Document (PDF) and the following Weblinks:-

Media Coverage:

(A) Wetland Conservation in Gidhwa-Parsada , Bemetara District:-

1. https://www.zenger.news/2021/03/08/central-indian-wetlands-a-home-to-birds eyes-ramsar-tag/

2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/chhattisgarhs-first-e ver-bird-fest-at-bemetara-from-january-31/articleshow/80589543.cms

3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKlXmSIZH24

(B) Sustainable livelihood through Ecotourism in Keshkal , Kondagaon District:-

1. https://www.thebetterindia.com/245586/ifs-hero-chhattisgarh-adivasi-dfo ganveer-dhammshil-transfer-tribal-community-protest-forest-officer-nor41/

2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/raipur/raipur-tata-maris-green peaks-ready-to-welcome-tourists/articleshow/78448634.cms

3. https://www.cgnewshindi.in/2020/07/chhattisgarh-chidiya-mitan.html

4. https://www.bhaskar.com/local/chhattisgarh/raipur/keshkal/news/oath-admi nistered-to-birds-and-birds-to-save-birds-128002230.html