Odisha to share biodiversity wisdom with eco-tourists, trains guides

The local, national and global significance in tourism and biodiversity conservation perspectives was also shared through theory and field visits.
Odisha to share biodiversity wisdom with eco-tourists, trains guides

BHUBANESWAR: Serious nature tourists thronging eco-tourism hotspots will have a lot to look forward to soon as Odisha is going to share a wealth of biodiversity knowledge through its trained guides and naturalists.From small little details of local flora and fauna to ecological history and traditional knowledge of plants and animals, tourists will get a richer experience of Odisha’s ecological diversity when they hit the nature trails.

In some of the southern states, ecoguides and naturalists, handpicked from local communities and trained, give tourists an experience of a lifetime. Taking a cue, the State Government has decided to put its rich biodiversity on display through a carefully-curated programme for which Odisha Biodiversity Board has been assigned the task to train ecoguides and naturalists of all the 42 identified ecotourism centers with financial support from Department of Tourism and Wildlife Wing of Forest Department.

One of the major attractions for serious eco-tourists at the sites is sighting of wildlife which is not always possible and leaves them disheartened. This, sometimes, leads to a drop in footfall but an enhanced experience of biodiversity of the sites can more than compensate when the rich cultural and traditional knowledge associated with the application of biological resources is shared. It will also help strengthen livelihood of the community members managing eco-tourism sites. 

“Biodiversity conservation is not solely about tigers and elephants. Plants with their medicinal, and edible and ecological values do matter. So do animals like butterflies, small mammals, reptiles, birds and even insects and their conservation is of high priority as they protect the bio-resources. The community members must be aware of their local, national and global significance which is what the programme aims at,” said sources in the Board. 

As part of the initiative, the Biodiversity Board completed two three-day training programmes at Dangamal Ecotourism Center, Bhitarkanika and Godibari Ecotourism Center under Chandaka Wildlife Division. As many as 30 ecoguides and naturalists of each center were trained about how to explain tourists on common plants and animals encountered in the identified nature trails at the respective sites by applying both traditional and scientific knowledge.

Scientific staff of the board including Prasad Kumar Dash (botanist) Satya Ranjan Behera (zoologist) and Shubhransu Nayak (microbiologist) trained the guides who were taken to nearby eco-trails where 100 plant species, 50 animal species and 20 crop wild relatives were explained from their natural history, ecology, biology and associated indigenous traditional ecological knowledge point of views in a three languages module. The local, national and global significance in tourism and biodiversity conservation perspectives was also shared through theory and field visits.

ENHANCED EXPERIENCE

Local community members of 42 ecotourism sites trained as ecoguides and naturalists to explain ecological significance of the sites to tourists
30 ecoguides and naturalists of each center trained on how to explain tourists on common plants and animals encountered in the identified nature trails at the respective sites by applying both traditional and scientific knowledge
Training was imparted by Odisha Biodiversity Board

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