Campus News

Visit by Afghan Minister

Dr. Yusuf Nuristani, Minister of Irrigation, Water Resources and Environment, Govt. of Afghanistan accompanied by Dr. Dave Ferguson, USFWS and Mr. M. Qaseem Naimi, Technical Advisor, Government of Afghanistan visited WII on April 21, 2004.

Dr. Nuristani presented a book on ‘Mammals of Afghanistan’ written by Khushal Habibi to Shri S. Singsit, Director for WII library.

In a meeting at WII, Shri S. Singsit, Director gave a presentation on the activities and programmes of the Institute. The Hon’ble Minister shared the purpose of his visit to WII. While thanking the Director and staff for receiving warmly, the minister emphasised that the relations between India and Afghanistan are cordial and he hoped the same would continued in future. Talking about the biodiversity of his country, Dr. Nuristani told that during the upsurge of last two decades, the wildlife of the country has vanished or moved out of the country. Siberian Crane, which used to come to breed, has not been spotted since 1985. The purpose of the trip was to send a few Afghan officers to train them in the field of wildlife conservation. The Afghan Govt. needs assistance and lot of education for creating awareness. Dr. Dave Ferguson also expressed his thoughts and said that the world wants to see that Afghanistan is developed. He felt that the country is now in a position to move forward.

The dignitaries visited the Institute’s Library, Computer & GIS Facilities and Forensic Laboratory. The Hon’ble Minister also planted a tree at ‘Smriti Vatika’. Director, WII presented a poster on ‘Siberian Crane’ to the Hon’ble Minister during a dinner hosted by WII in his honour. The Siberian Crane poster was designed by the International Crane Foundation and provided by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, USA with text and comments provided by crane biologists. The WII had provided the text in English and Hindi in the poster.  The Siberian Crane is a migratory crane that comes to India from Siberia crossing through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. For more details please contact: bcs@wii.gov.in

XXV Post Graduate Diploma Course concluded

In the last phase of their training, the officer trainees were taken to Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary for Management Term Paper Exercise from March 27-April 6, 2004. The objective of this tour was to familiarize the officer trainees in the collection of field data and for writing a scientific report based on the data collected through both primary and secondary sources.

The officer trainees were taken to Gir Conservation Area during April 23-May 11, 2004 for the Management Plan writing exercise. The objective of this exercise was to develop skills among the officer trainees in writing a management plan. Under the guidance of faculty members the officer trainees conducted field surveys to collect first-hand information on all aspects of Gir Conservation Area.

The sports events were held from May 26-27, 2004. The WII team won cricket and the tug-o-war events while the diploma officers were the winners in Volleyball. The viva-voce examination was held on May 28-29, 2004.

Dr. R.B. Lal, IGF (Wildlife) GOI and Chief Guest giving away the awards to the officer trainees of the XXV Diploma Course.

The valedictory function was held on May 31, 2004. Dr. R.B. Lal, IGF (Wildlife) GOI, was the Chief Guest of the function. All the officer trainees have passed in respective modules and field exercises. Shri Manoj Kumar (Karnataka), Shri N.B. Debnath (Tripura), Shri K.V. Uthaman (Kerala), Shri Anil Kumar Ratan (Karnataka), Shri Namgay Dendup (Bhutan) and Shri Bed Kumar Dhakal (Nepal) received the Honours Diploma.

Shri Manoj Kumar bagged the Institute’s Gold Medal for the ‘Top Trainee’. He also won the Wildlife Preservation Society Silver Medal for the ‘Top Trainee’ and Silver Medal for the ‘Best All Round Wildlifer’. NR Nair Memorial Silver Medal for ‘Best Management Plan’ was jointly won by Shri N.B. Debnath and Shri Manoj Kumar. Best Management Term Paper (Book Prize) was shared by Shri K.V. Uthaman and Shri Prabhat Tyagi. Shri Manoj Kumar was declared the Top Trainee in Wildlife Biology (Book Prize). Institute’s Gold Medal for ‘Top Foreign Trainee’ was jointly bagged by Shri Bed Kumar Dhakal and Shri Namgay Dendup. For more details please contact: ruchi@wii.gov.in

World Environment Day Celebrated

Like every year, this year also the Wildlife Institute of India celebrated the World Environment Day on 5th June 2004 to renew its commitment to protect the environment from devastation. The activities were organized keeping in view the theme for this year’s World Environment Day, “Wanted Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive”, as declared by UNEP. An essay competition in Hindi on “Importance of Water and its Conservation” was organized for the staff members of the Institute.

With a view of creating awareness about the importance of water and water bodies amongst children, a trip was organized to Asan Barrage near Dehradun. A total of 69 children of class 6-12 participated in the trip. The main points of the discussion were the significance of water and water bodies for animals and human beings, rivers around Dehradun, their importance and threats to them. Although, there were not many birds in the man-made wetland, yet the children could watch a few. “My Water Activity Book”, a booklet on water was prepared for the children. Word search, water web crossword puzzle, paper whale and frog preparation were some of the hands-on activities, which were conducted during the visit. For more details please contact: bcs@wii.gov.in