Dehradun: Maaty Organisation has organized a National Webinar on “Through the lens of Common Peoples: Discussion on the factors and drivers related to Biodiversity Conservation”
International Biodiversity Day was celebrated on 22 May, 2021 to create awareness for the protection and conservation of Biodiversity by organizing different types of events around the Globe. As the theme for the year is “We are part of the solution” which is a step ahead of the previous year’s theme which says “Our solution is in Nature”. As we are dependent on Nature for everything. Our actions in past have created any substantial changes which have caused loss to the biodiversity and we cannot reverse but now we can contribute toward a sustainable future by checking are action.
Maaty Organization, Dehradun organized a national webinar on the occasion of International Biodiversity day on “Through the lens of Common Peoples: Discussion on the factors and drivers related to Biodiversity Conservation”. The webinar focused on searching for the ground-level solution to the problem created by the Human race which is actually the theme for the year we are part of the solution. On 22nd May every year, International Biodiversity Day is observed.
It is a whole week which makes us learn about a different aspect of biodiversity through various marked days such as 20th May World Bee Day, 21 May Endangered Species Day, 23 May, World Turtle Day. The whole webinar was organized by keeping in mind to get some fruitful ideas, to look the nature, Biodiversity our environment through the perspective of people from different background which includes profession, education, and regions.
The webinar was started by Dr. Ankita Rajpoot (Co-founder & Scientist Maaty Organization) with her welcoming and inaugural address speech. She clearly focused on how important it is to conserve biodiversity and the role of every stakeholder in its protection and nurturing. She talked about the crises we are facing right now, to which she focuses to look beyond crises to find the solution, finding methods to save our indigenous practices. She also told how the webinar is one of a kind as whenever we look for a webinar or seminar or an event we look for speakers, highlights or heroes but in this event every one is a speaker every view has its value and as the diverse participants will conclude to whole lot of solution for the crises we are facing in the modern. The event also got the view point of people having completely different fields and area.
After the inaugural address, Mr. Tamaghna Chowdhury (Engineer) shared his views on sustainability, where he explained the three pillars of sustainable society which are environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. “We cannot focus only on achieving one of the above we have to have a balance between the three and it is just impossible to achieve one neglecting others. We need to work on building a society where this concept is feasible for all” he said. He recalls when he was studying how environmental science was just a part of the curriculum which does not even add marks to your overall performance but later in life, he understood its importance and how the children should be taught to perceive the subject.
Next up in the series of sharing ideas was Mr. Arkadeep (Engineer) who spoke about the black hole of the century i.e. plastic. “As everyone is aware of the harmful effects of plastic, how it is just ruing every ecosystem. Despite this, we do not make simple efforts like the segregation of waste at our home” he said. He added few changes one can adopt to reduce the use of plastic and leading a sustainable lifestyle. “Focusing on the sustainable solution is what we all need to look for. From making a change as simple as using bamboo toothbrush to designing our house in a way it uses up cycled material is what everyone should do. Hence we can reduce the carbon footprints” he added.
In the series was next Ms. Mandeep Kaur (Block Chairman and Block BMC Chairman Jakhal,District Fatehabad, Haryana), who is working on ground level and has a lot of experiences in the conservation of biodiversity in the area. She shared a few of her experiences like a plantation in the area, promoting and adopting organic farming practices in which she feels her family is the constant support. She also said, “We make conscious efforts to inculcate the habitat of respecting every life form on earth in their children by involving them in plantation, agricultural activities etc”. Every year people burn wheat/ rice straw even after so much of awareness around it, she felt the pain when the flora and fauna is burned with it to. Her family took the initiative of planting trees. She concluded by saying that every life forms deserve right to live in its free space.
Then Ms. Oyndrila Sanyal (SRF, Maaty organization) took the webinar forward by explaining about the plantation buddies i.e. native and exotic plant species. Native plant species is a way to conserve native biodiversity. She emphasised on the plantation of native plants as they are adapted to the climate, habitat and have controlling factors. She also explained how sometimes some exotic species have turned into invasive in a region.
Towards the open discussion session, the participants shared their perspectives, ideas, and suggestion on how the changes can be implemented at the ground level. Mr. Jokhan Sharma (Anthropologist) shared that lots of cultural and traditional practices are way more effective in conserving biodiversity. He further added we cannot make a significant contribution without community participation in the conservation.
Dr. Ved Prakash, Founder & Scientist Maaty Organization concluded the webinar by appreciating everyone who has participated and made the webinar a success. Speaking about Biodiversity, he explained the involvement of the Maaty organization with different stakeholders in conservation. He explained how Maaty has contributed its bit in the form of researches, awareness, and sensitization campaigns, and activities at the ground level. He also added that how the organization helped the community by providing them skills and training to generate livelihood.
He also threw light on awareness at the grass-root level to make the whole process of conservation successful. He said, “we need to be more conscious in our actions and have a sense of responsibility towards our environment.”
Ms. Oyndrila Sanyal had immensely contributed to make this webinar a success. Ms. Deepshikha has contributed through her moderation throughout the event to make the event successful. More than 100 participants from across the country participated in this national webinar. Ms. Pratiksha Mahar, Ms. Anupriya, and all the Maaty Team were also present in the webinar.
