NATIONAL LEVEL SPEARHEAD TRAINING PROGRAMME ON ‘BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION

OF GANGA RIVER BASIN’ FOR DISTRICT PROJECT OFFICERS & PROJECT ASSISTANTS OF

NEHRU YUVA KENDRA SANGATHAN (NYKS)

Dated: 5th - 7th January, 2020 Venue: Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun

Under the Wildlife Institute of India-National Mission for Clean Mission Ganga project ‘Biodiversity

Conservation Initiative Phase II, 3 days National Spearhead Training Programme for District Project

Officers & Project Assistant of NYKS was conducted at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), from the

5th to 7th January, 2021. The objective of the training was to train the spearhead team about the

project objectives and various aquatic species of the Ganga Basin also they will lead the conservation

activities in their respective areas specially conducting cleanliness and plantation drive, volunteering

with State forest departments in population estimation of different aquatic species of Ganga River

and mobilization of school children at their respective states. A total of 29 DPOs and 4 Project

assistant from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal had participated.

Team Members: Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director-WII; Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G & PI, WII NMCG

Project; Dr. S.A Hussain, Project Manager, WII NMCG Project; Dr. V.P. Uniyal, Scientist G; Dr. Gopi

G.V., Scientist E; Dr. Anil Bhardwaj; Dr. Niladri Dasgupta, Programme Coordinator, WII-NMCG

Project; Dr. Sangeeta Angom, Training Coordinator; Ms. Hemlata Khanduri, Eco-development

Officer; Mr. Zeeshan Ali, Spatial Analyst; Ms. Aditi Dev, Project Fellow; Ms. Sunita Rawar, Community

Officer; Ms. Monika Mehralu, Assistant Training Coordinator; Ms. Sana Shaikh, Assistant Training

Coordinator; Mr. Ravindranath Tripathi, Project Fellow; Ms. Aishwarya Ramachandran, Project

Fellow; Mr. Rahul Gupta, Training Assistant; Ms. Tanya Trivedi, Project Fellow; Ms. Anjali, Project

Fellow; Ms. Suchismita Das, Project Fellow; Ms. Hema Pant, Assistant Eco-development Officer; Ms.

Mrinalini Agarwal, Project Assistant Grade II; Ms. Preeti Shukla, Project Assistant Grade II; Ms.

Simran Dogra, Project Intern.

Participants

The training workshop was attended by 29 District Project Officers and 4 Project Assistants from 4

Ganga States (Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal). Detail list of participants is

provided in the participants database.

Day 1 (5th January, 2021)

On 1st day detailed information about the technical issues pertaining to biodiversity conservation

activities were shared with the participants. During the inaugural function Dr. Sangeeta Angom,

Scientist & Training Coordinator welcomed all the participants to the training programme and asked

the participants to introduce themselves. Thereafter Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G & PI of the project,

briefly described the role and objective of establishment of spearhead teams and implementation of

training programmes. Dr. S. A. Hussain, Scientist G & Project Investigator motivated the participants

to be torch bearers for Ganga aqualife conservation and to supervise the ground level activities in

main stem Ganga River and its major tributaries. He also introduced the participants about the NRCD

project taken up by WII, to implement the systematic conservation initiatives in other six rivers of

India. Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director WII described the main role and vision of WII in conserving wild

flora and fauna and their habitat in India. He also mentioned the invaluable role of NYKS in

submitting public interest litigation for Dehradun limestone quarrying case of 1983, which was the

first case requiring the Supreme court to balance environmental and ecological integrity against

industrial demands on forest resources. This session was followed by inaugural address of Shri. Rosy

Agarwal, ED Finance, NMCG presented the inaugural address where congratulated the WII for

organizing the workshop. He also mentioned the role of Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan is very

important in conservation of Ganga River and its biodiversity.

The next session started with an overview about the NMCG-WII project phase II by Dr. Niladri

Dasgupta, Project Coordinator where he informed about the project objectives and the initiatives

taken to achieve those. Thereafter, Dr. V.P. Uniyal, Senior Professor & Scientist G delivered a lecture

on ‘Invertebrates as Bioindicators for Monitoring Ecosystem Health’, which covered the significance

of various insects including earthworms, beetles, spiders and so on for the balanced ecological

system on the river basin.

In the next session the participants visited the GIS laboratory where Mr. Zeeshan Ali, Spatial Analyst

informed about the methods of gathering segregated information from the whole stretch of the

river and to identify the stretch which is more suitable for conservation, using GIS tools. After this,

the team was taken to the Ecotoxicology lab where Ms. Ruchika Sah, Research Associate, of the

project explained about the techniques and methods used for collection of water and soil sample

and how the analysis is done. They were also informed that the Ganga Praharis of all the five states

were trained online with the monitoring protocol of water and sediment sample collection during

the lockdown period of COVID-19 for ecotoxicological assessment sites and then they executed the

same from different sampling sites along the entire stretch, and send to the institute.

After the lab visit, the session was continued by Ms. Tanya Trivedi, Project Fellow on ‘Conservation

Education: A Tool for eliciting public support’. The participants were informed regarding the concept

of Gangaridai eco-club members and their roles in community awareness. An activity session was

conducted on origami and web of life, in which the team actively participated and learned how they

can involve the children and local communities in the conservation activities. They also learned the

necessity of team activity, the differences of thoughts and learning process among people. She also

gave a brief description of interpretation centres, Ganga Darpan and Ganga Anubhuti. Thereafter,

Dr. A.K. Bhardwaj portrayed the fundamental principles of village level microplanning and

implementation, while depicting it as a bottom up planning in a village setting where environment is

complex, diverse and risk prone.

Ms. Aditi Dev, Project Fellow, continued the session and discussed the important objectives of village

microplanning with a view on prioritization of villages along the Ganga. She also mentioned that

preparation of microplanning guideline for 12 villages out of 4400 Ganga Grams, have been done

with the support of 15 institutions. The digitalization of the village microplanning was delineated by

Mr. Ravindranath Tripathi, Project Fellow. He showed the map of Ganga basin with 12 villages

indicating detailed information of microplanning in the website of digital microplanning.

Day 2 (6th January, 2021)

On the second day the participants were taken for field exposure at Asan Conservation Reserve.

During the visit the participants were address by Dr. G.V. Gopi, Scientist E on techniques and

methods of Bird Watching, Wetland Management and Conservation of the habitat. He also gave an

account of wetland, Ramsar convention on wetland, IBA and their significance in conservation. The

difference between conservation and community reserve, and the importance of Asan barrage in the

conservation of wetland habitat for a wide range of migratory as well resident birds, and the

declaration of Asan Conservation Reserve as Uttarakhand’s first Ramsar site were discussed. After

the visit to Asan the participants were taken to Himalayan Environmental Education and

Conservation Organization, (HESCO) Dehradun where Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, Padma Bhusan took a

session and motivated the participants for Ganga River conservation. Thereafter the participants

visited the traditional rural technologies displayed in the campus such as water mill, solar food

processing unit, making of lantana furniture, low cost mushroom cultivation, biogas unit and re-

established forest using isotopic techniques that held to rejuvenation of river etc.

The evening session was entirely an activity session on ‘Participating Project Planning-The Logical

Framework’ guided by Dr. Ruchi Badola. She briefly narrated the concept and method of building

framework with the help of different community representatives. Participants were divided into six

groups according to their states and districts. Each group were asked to identified single problem

and then root cause analysis was done to break the problems into different points which can be

solved by deploying proper solution.

Day 3 (7th January, 2021)

The final day training was held at Ganga Avlokan Centre, Chandi Ghat, Haridwar. The morning

session was conducted by Ms. Ruchika Sah, Research associate, Ecotoxicology Component, WII. The

participants were familiarized with the concepts of water pollution, sources and monitoring. Activity

based demonstration was done for topics such as bio-magnification and point, non-point sources of

pollution. A detailed description was given on the protocols for water and sediment collection, and

the doubts arising from participants were addressed. The participants were also trained about

noting geospatial information on field. After this, the valedictory function of the workshop was

organized at the Ganga Avlokan. Shri. C. Ravishankar, District Magistrate, Haridwar was the Guest of

Honour for the event. Ms. Monika Mehralu welcomed the august gathering. The valedictory function

started with the video messages by Shri. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG where he

congratulated all the participants and motivated them. Thereafter, Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G &

Nodal officer presented the training report. After this, the certificates were distributed to the

participants. Shri. C. Ravishankar, address the august gathering and encouraged the participants to

work for the conservation of Ganga River and its species. Dr. Sangeeta Angom presented the vote of

thanks. The function was culminated with the Nukad Nattak by the Sambhav Parivaar Manch.

Programme Schedule

INAUGURAL SESSION 5th January, 2021

RESOURCE PERSONS

1000- 1030 Registration of the participants Ms. Monika Mehralu, Ms. Sana

Shaikh, Ms. Mrinalini Agarwal, Mr. Rahul Gupta, Ms. Simran Dogra

1030-1045 Welcome address Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G & PI, WII NMCG Project

1045- 1130 Overview of WII-NMCG Project Phase II-"Planning and Management for Aquatic Species Conservation and Maintenance of Ecosystem Services in the Ganga River Basin"

Dr. S. A Hussain, Principal Investigator, WII

1130-1210 Role and vision of Wildlife Institute of India Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director, WII

1210-1220 Inaugural Address Shri. Rosy Agarwal, ED, Finance, NMCG

1220-1230 Vote of Thanks Dr. Sangeeta Angom, Training Coordinator, NMCG-WII Phase II, WII

TECHNICAL SESSION I

1230-1330 Invertebrate as bio-indicator for ecological monitoring

Dr. V.P. Uniyal, Scientist G, WII

1330-1430 Lunch

1430-1530 Conservation Education: A tool for Eliciting public support

Dr. Bitapi Sinha, Ms. Tanya Trivedi, Ms. Anjali

1530-1600 Tea

1600-1700 Visit to WII Nature Trail (Vegetation Sampling)

Ms. Anita Devi, Ms. Monika Mehralu, Mr. Zeeshan Ali, Ms. Ashwarya

1700-1830 Understanding the process of Microplanning

Dr. Ruchi Badola, Ms. Hemlata Khanduri, Ms. Aditi Dev, Mr. Ravindranath Tripathi Digital village Microplan and App

Technical Session II: Field Visit 6th January, 2021

0730-1200 Visit to Asan Conservation Reserve (Monitoring of Birds)

Dr. Gopi G.V., Ms. Monika Mehralu, Ms. Sana Shaikh, Mr. Shreyash, Mr. Rahul Gupta

1200-1500 Visit to HESCO, Shuklapur (Lunch at HESCO)

Ms. Monika Mehralu, Ms. Sana Shaikh, Mr. Shreyash, Mr. Rahul Gupta

1500-1600 Back to WII

1600-1730 Visit to Forensic Lab Dr. S. K Gupta & Dr. Ajit Kumar

1730-1900 Ganga Prahari Initiatives:A successful Model of Community engagement

Dr. Deepika Dogra, Ms. Aditi Dev, Ms. Monika Mehralu, Ms. Hema Pant Community Participation in Ganga

Biodiversity Conservation

Technical Session III: Field Visit & Valedictory Function 7th January, 2021

PROGRAMME RESOURCE PERSONS

1030-1130 Water Quality Monitoring Ms. Richika Sah, Ms. Pooja Chaudhary and Mr. Deepak

1130-1200 Tea Break

1200-1300 Visit to Ganga Avlokan Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G & Nodal Officer, WII

1300-1400 Lunch

1400-1430 Interaction with Bal Ganga Praharis Dr. Sangeeta Angom, Training Coordinator, WII-NMCG Phase II

Valedictory Function

1415-1420 Welcome Address Ms. Monika Mehralu, Junior Training Coordinator, WII-NMCG Project

1420-1430 Training Report Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G&Nodal Officer, WII

1430-1445 Certificate Distribution Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director WII, Shri. C. Ravishankar, District Magistrate, Haridwar, Dr. Ruchi Badola, Scientist G &Nodal Officer, WII

1445-1500 Online address by DWII Dr. Dhanajai Mohan, Director, WII

1500-1515 Address by Guest of Honour Shri. C. Ravishankar, District Magistrate, Haridwar

1515-1530 Valedictory Address (Online) Shri. Rajiv Ranjan Mishra, Director General, NMCG

1530-1535 Vote of Thanks Dr. Sangeeta Angom, Training Coordinator, WII-NMCG Phase II

1540-1630 Nukkar Natak at Chandi Ghat, Haridwar Sambhav Parivaar Manch

1630 hrs Departure to Dehradun

Photo Gallery

(A) Welcoming of the participants at the National Spearhead Training programme for DPOs &

Project Assistant of NYKS

(B) Briefing the Training objectives

(C) Briefing about the WII-NMCG Phase II project and its objectives

(D) Briefing about Role and vision of Wildlife Institute of India

(E) Inaugural address by Shri. Rozy Agarwal, ED Finance, NMCG

(F) Group Photo

(G)

(H) Lecture on Invertebrate as bio-indicator for ecological monitoring by Dr. V.P. Uniyal

(I) Visit to Eco-toxicology Lab

(J) Visit to GIS lab

(K) Lecture on Conservation Education by Ms. Tanya Trivedi

(L) Lecture on Micro-planning of villages

(M) Lecture on Digital Microplanning

(N) Field visit to Asan Conservation Reserve

(O) Interaction with Dr. Anil Prakash Joshi, Padmabhusan

(P) Visit to HESCO

(Q) Exercise on Participatory Management

(R) Session on water quality monitoring

(S) Shri. C. Ravishankar, DM, Haridwar, Guest of Honour addressing the gathering

(S) Certificate Distribution