CEE Uttarakhand

World Wetlands Day 2016 Celebration in Kuroli Village, Uttarkashi District, Uttarakhand

CEE Himalaya organized various activities on 2 February 2016 or World Wetlands Day under the theme ‘Wetlands for Our Future: Sustainable Livelihoods’ for community of Kuroli village situated in the foothills of Bhatwari block, Uttarkashi district in the state of Uttarakhand. It took place in order to sensitize people on the importance of the wetlands and to empower them to take appropriate actions locally to improve the condition of wetlands

Climate change and human encroachment in the region is making Dodi Tal and Nachiketa Tal wetlands a threat for the community as in the recent past these have resulted in catastrophic floods and landslides in the district. These wetlands are high altitude and also hold a religious importance for the villagers.

More than 70 participants comprising of men, women, panchayat representatives, school children and youth learned in-depth about the usefulness of wetlands for environmental protection and income generation as well as the locally adopted measures to conserve them. Community people also participated in different activities like painting, slogan writing, speeches, debates and discussions. Saplings of local species like Baans (Bamboo), Devdar, Malt and Oak were planted by the principal and students of Government Primary School, Kuroli.

At the end of the event, whole community took pledges, writing them on a white cloth, for conserving the wetlands in their region as well as motivating other people to do the same.

CEE has been working in the State of Uttarakhand for the past 12 years. The focus of CEE's work in the state has been environment education in schools, biodiversity conservation, natural resource management and awareness generation. The Department of Education, State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT), Uttarakhand Council for Science and Technology (U-COST), Uttarakhand Forest Department, UNESCO and 15 partner NGOs, etc are the agencies with which CEE has been working in the State.