Bhubaneswar: The fifth training under the Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme launched by Ministry of Tourism (MoT). The ministry has launched this program in collaboration with Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for local community members, boat owners, and Forest department officials of Chilika Lake in the presence of Dr Sagnik Chowdhury, Regional Director (East), Ministry of Tourism, Dr M Ramesh, Scientist ‘E’, MoEF&CC, Dr Md Sabir Hussain, Nodal officer and Head, IITTM Bhubaneswar, Dr Amlan Naik, DFO Chilka Wildlife Division and Addl CEO, Chilika Development Authority (CDA), and other officials from CDA, and Forest Department, Govt of Odisha.
Under this initiative, two training programmes of 15 days each namely Alternative Livelihood program (ALP), and Paryatan Navik Certification (PNC) will be conducted. With the help of the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) a total of 60 participants (30 for each course) were identified from the local communities in and around Chilika Lake to impart trainings and subsequently certifying them as nature-guides.
This ongoing initiative aims to enhance livelihood opportunities for local communities by exploring the nature-tourism potential of Ramsar Sites across the country, as an integral component of the Amrit Dharohar Initiative spearheaded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
In the first phase of this programme, five priority Ramsar sites were identified namely Sultanpur National Park, Sirpur wetland, Yashwant Sagar, Bhitarkanika National Park, and Chilika Lake. The first three training programmes for Sultanpur National Park, Sirpur wetland, and Yashwant Sagar have been successfully completed in December 2023 and the fourth training that was inaugurated on 5th January 2024 is currently undergoing.
