Photo: Prakhar Pandey
Is a growing world population a clear threat to the environment? This is a question that we all must ask today, given the uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources for either survival or economic development. The threat to the environment goes far beyond the debatable theory of ‘global warming’. The last major climate change was an ice age, and the world is in the final stages of that ‘event’. This has resulted in a rise in temperatures and the melting of glaciers - and even the polar ice cap. Further, the increasing demand on the earth’s natural resources is adding massively to global pollution and waste. Deforestation has brought with it another kind of peril. When a region loses its biodiversity, it disrupts the natural balance of ecological systems, and makes it more vulnerable to other elements in the environment. Industrial pollutants have sizeably added to the level of pollution across the globe, resulting in a negative impact on the ozone layer. To add to this we have acid rains, and dead zones in the oceans, which have impacted both land and marine life. Species are going extinct at an alarming rate. And with every country conducting its own brand of ‘development’ – sans any environmental conscience – we seem headed for disaster.
This growing danger to the environment and life on earth has led to the emergence of some globally responsive groups, who are relentlessly pointing to the perils and exhorting human beings to become more proactive to conservation. They both confirm and warn that, ‘(only) if Nature survives, man will’. IndianWildlifeClub.com (IWC) is one such organization, which is helping to make people more aware about the environment and the need for its protection, in order to sustain the existence of all life forms. It is doing it somewhat differently though. “IWC is an online club, started 13 years ago, for Nature lovers; we have also developed into a Community of Practice (COP) focused on Indian Wildlife. As of now we have 7,000 members…and growing. IWC is the country’s first online club that promotes the understanding of environmental issues through continuous interaction with members and others who are sensitive to the growing assault on the environment. There are about 500 members in the NCR – of which 173 are in Gurgaon,” says Dr. Susan Sharma, the founder member of IWC. One of the active members of IWC, Roy, adds, “I am very passionate about wildlife photography, and being a member of this organisation I volunteer to make people much more knowledgeable about wildlife. People should be more aware of Nature’s beauty and should help conserve the natural environment.” Adds Dr. Susan, “We organise a monthly live chat, where the members interact with an expert in the field on a selected topic of general interest.” By creating a strong awareness of environmental concerns, IWC aims to rally the active support of its members in helping shape the legal, political, cultural and behavioural changes that are needed to protect India’s natural riches, including its wildlife. “We codify and archive the explicit knowledge of this COP in the form of searchable learning resources, which members can access through simple online queries,” says Dr. Susan. The user-generated content - blogs, articles, trip reports and moderated online chats – caters to the needs of multiple interest groups covering various levels of environmental awareness. For the benefit of those at the top of the environment education pyramid, IWC has introduced online environment courses, conducted by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).”I am not s very active member of this organisation, but I have attended workshops that were very helpful in educating me. I am also pursuing an online course of BNHS,“ says Anita, a member of IWC. 60 members have taken the courses in the last 2 years. “We also promote week-long volunteering opportunities in places such as the Melghat Tiger Reserve in Central India,” adds Dr. Susan. IWC is also looking to help migratory birds and would like to get people to visit the nearby bird sanctuaries. Their long-term objective is to make such habits a part of our culture. The response to a program being spearheaded by Wildlife Research and Conservation Society (WRCS), Pune has been quite encouraging. In 2014, IWC initiated an extension of its ground level outreach by conducting one-day workshops titled ‘Living in harmony with Nature’ - where experts interacted with Nature lovers. Two similar workshops were conducted at Gurgaon in April and June 2014.
IWC work has been well recognised. The Indian Council of Social Science Research has provided them a seed grant for online environmental education. IWC has also reached out overseas. A case study on its activities was presented at an Interactive Computer-aided Learning Conference held in Austria. IWC was one of the nine finalists - selected out of 5,000 entries nationwide - for the DELL-UTVi Award (2009) at the SMB Excellence Awards titled ‘Take your own Path’. It was also the recipient of the Jury Award at the India eGov 2.0 Awards 2010, for the most innovative usage of Social Media and Web 2.0 tools for governance and social development in India. “We have also been awarded by the Knowledge Resource Development and Welfare Group in 2012, for Excellence in Innovation for the protection and preservation of environment and the wildlife habitat. Further, we were invited to make a presentation on ‘Online tools for education and community protection of wildlife and wild lands’ at the recently concluded ‘Wild10 Congress’ in Spain. As part of its future plans, IWC is making its site mobile friendly, given the growing numbers now accessing the site on their mobiles. It is also starting regional forums through a mobile application. Further, it is creating a Wilderness Volunteer Exchange, connecting NGOs/Govt. agencies working in wilderness conservation with volunteers. IWC does, however, have its limitations, that stop it from ramping up its activities and reaching further out. “Yes, financial constraints have held back our growth. The Club can really take off in a big way if we can partner with organisations working on larger offline projects. We are now approaching funding agencies/corporates, for soliciting their support in the creation of our mobile application and also helping us make the Wilderness Conservation Exchange. We are also continuing our efforts to partner with NGOs working on wilderness related projects,” observes Dr. Susan.
Earth Watch Institute (EWI) is an integral part of the environment and sustainable development workshops and is engaged in mobilising people for scientific field research. EWI is the brainchild of dedicated naturalists such as Dr. G Srinivasan, renowned documentary producer Mike H Pandey and Raghuvansh Saxena - who are the Trustee, Chairman and Country Director of EWI respectively. It has charted out a multi-pronged action plan based on specific priorities to evaluate biodiversity and habitats. Prashant Mahajan, the Learning Manager at EWI, adds, “We are working on multiple facets of sustainability in the Western Ghats and now are looking to conduct a similar experiment in and around Gurgaon.”
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