Capacity Building of Youth for Monitoring of Climate Change Impacts on Wildlife and their Habitats in the Himalaya (March 13^th to 16^th, 2023)

A four-day workshop was held at WII from 13^th to 16^th March as part of the DST-NMSHE phase-II project. The workshop aimed to disseminate knowledge and build capacity on monitoring the biodiversity of the Himalayan region amidst climate change challenges. The event trained nearly 40 students from environmental/zoological sciences, representing four institutions/colleges, namely, Doon University, Dolphin PG Institute, Graphic Era Hill University, and Serampore College-West Bengal, across two states, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

The workshop commenced with opening remarks by the Dean, Dr. Ruchi Badola, followed by the Registrar WII and workshop co-ordinator Dr. S. Sathyakumar. Dr. G.S. Rawat, former Dean and Scientist-G, WII, delivered a keynote address for the workshop, giving a comprehensive overview of conservation efforts for Himalayan wildlife under the effects of climate change. The participants were trained on the most advanced techniques for monitoring terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity in the region, including an orientation on climate change research in the Himalayas. The workshop involved a series of talks and hands-on sessions by the faculty and researchers of WII. The workshop concluded with a quiz competition designed to test the participants' knowledge of Himalayan wildlife and climate change. The Director, Sh. Virendra Tiwari, ended the workshop with his expert opinions and closing remarks and also motivated the winners with medals and certificates. The event helped to build a community of like-minded individuals committed to protecting the unique biodiversity of the Himalayas in the face of global climate change.

The DST-NMSHE project celebrated the International Day of Action For Rivers 2023 from March 14^th to 15^th at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in Dehradun. The event aimed to build the capacity of young learners and disseminate knowledge on monitoring the rivers of Himalaya under the challenges posed by climate change. Nearly 40 students from environmental and zoological sciences representing two states and four institutions/colleges attended the event. The participants were trained to monitor stream health using benthic macroinvertebrates as a biomonitoring tool, and were briefed on the Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (EPT) index, as well as the Biotic index. The assessment revealed that the streams were in "good" condition but "below average" in terms of water quality. The students came to realize the importance of stream health assessments and were equipped with the skills necessary to facilitate similar citizen science activities in other streams of the Himalayas. DST-NMSHE aims to conduct similar bioassessment exercises with large spatial coverage across the Himalayan region in the coming years.