yet again ... getting lost ... then enjoying self-discovery ...

Thoughts from a conservation gathering: SCB Asia 2012. At the onset I must emphasise that this piece does not intend to make a comment either on the Society for Conservation Biology that organized the Biodiversity Asia 2012 , nor wildlife scientists; both have enabled me to learn in no small measure. My attempt is  merely to share questions which confronted me during the event, left me puzzled and at times, even disturbed. One of the panel speakers, in his otherwise amazing talk, referred to ‘social scientists’ ( I don’t quite agree with the term ) role being that of raising ‘questions’ and not of providing ‘answers’. This was somewhat difficult to comprehend: On the one hand we talk of multi-disciplinary approach to conservation being the need of the hour and on the other we freeze our boundaries. Is this tantamount to throwing the ball in someone else’s court? Who then answers these questions put up by social scientists? During a dinner conversation I shared, ...

This is what the flier of our workshop (organized as a post conference event at the SCB Asia 2012  said. Re-thinking Conservation Education Beyond tree planting and painting competitions We are at a threshold when nurturing and deepening ecological literacy and sensitivity is of unparalleled urgency in all our efforts to save the earth. Are we doing enough to spread and sustain this literacy? Where have conservation education initiatives taken us thus far? Do we have the right philosophical approach and necessary skills to translate good intentions into action? What are the appropriate scales to focus on? The questions continue. . . . .   I share below random thoughts from the pre-lunch session – panel discussion. Conservation Education: Have we made a difference. (Deliberations, in preparation of this session, were held over tele-conversations & chats over Google Talk and ranged from giving more time for the audience to removing the table su...

An abstract I submitted at the recently organized SCB by ATREE at Bangalore was accepted and I had an interesting experience attending the Conference. While the abstract was submitted under "Biodiversity and People" - one of the 4 themes of the Conference my talk was a part of a session titled "Conservation Management : Tools and Education". Pleased to share  the abstract   and select slides. Conservation Education (CE): Questions enroute an invigorating journey. CE program at Saiha (Mizoram) had me undertake a range of activities that include film-screenings, church-newsletters and tea-stall discussions . These were organized on a regular basis over a period of 3 years with different segments of society and efforts made to generate synergies with local practices. My involvement with the entire gamut from plan to documentation greatly enriched me and also left me with questions.   Questions that range from whether we are communicating in an ...