First elephant awareness workshop

7 March 2010

Elephants and humans are in constant conflict in the southern Bhutan. To ease this tension and create awareness among the stakeholders, the Nature Conservation Division under Ministry of Agriculture and Forests is organising the first human-elephant co-existence workshop in Lobesa, Wangdue. The workshop started yesterday.

Titled “Getting Along with Asian Elephants”, the workshop will focus on educating and training forestry personnel, community leaders and other stakeholders who are directly or indirectly involved in human-elephant related issues.

The participants will be taught how to use educational materials on human-elephant co-existence through exercises, games, dramas and stories. They will be provided elephant etiquette booklets, elephant packet items consisting of friendship band, masks, finger puppets, placards and stickers in both English and Dzongkha. The elephant drama kit and elephant educational manual will, however, be only in English.

The youth groups like Happy Valley are also participating to help develop positive attitude towards elephants and suggest ways and means to mitigate the conflict and encourage the co-existence of humans and elephants.

The workshop will end on March 6.

The second workshop will be held in Gedu from March 9 to 11.

The workshops are funded by Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO) with support from Asian Elephant Conservation Fund, the USA, and Fish and Wildlife Service, the USA.

These workshops form a part of the action plans specified in Bhutan National Human-Wildlife Conflicts Management Strategy 2008 implemented by Nature Conservation Division in collaboration with other partners and donors as a priority programme from the RNR sector during the 10th five-year plan.

ZOO is an NGO based in Tamil Nadu, India. It has organised similar workshops in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Nepal. It will also be organising workshops in Thailand and Sri Lanka.

By Eshori Gurung

Ratings: 1 Star