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Pre-strategic planning workshop (February 2014)
ENVIS Staff attended the pre-strategic planning workshop held on 17 February 2014 held at BNHS head office, Mumbai. ENVIS centre benefitted by creating a road map for the activities to be planned in coming years.
Students’ Conference on Conservation Science (September 2013)
Scientist-In-Charge attended the Students’ Conference on Conservation Science at IISc Bangalore, from 25 to 27 September 2013, where ENVIS Centre’s work and databases were publicized among students who had come from various regions of Asia and Africa.
CEC education seminar (September 2013)
Scientist-in-charge presented a talk on the ENVIS Centre’s role in Information dissemination at the Seminar on Promotion of Environmental Literacy in Maharashtra conducted by Conservation Education Centre of BNHS in collaboration with United States- India Educational Foundation, on 21 September 2013.
Visit by Additional Secretary, MoEF (July, 2013)
Shri Shashi Shekhar, Additional Secretary, MoEF, visited our ENVIS Centre on 19 July 2013 to review its functioning and activities. He assessed the Centre as per the proforma given by the Secretariat. Our website was reviewed for its functionality and information shared online. He expressed his satisfaction regarding the overall functioning of the Centre.
Nature Trails (2013)
ENVIS staff conducted nature trails at Sewri and Sanjay Gandhi National Park, for students regarding biodiversity awareness.
BNHS Flamingo Festival (March, 2013)
The ENVIS team actively disseminated information on birds and answered queries posed by the public and media during the Flamingo Festival.
‘Forest of Hope’ project of BirdLife International (January, 2013)
ENVIS Centre staff worked in collaboration with IBA-IBCN and BirdLife International team for compiling data on sacred groves of India, for ‘Forest of Hope’ project of BirdLife International.
E-learning for Professional Development (2013)
ENVIS staff has enrolled for short-term online Professional Development Courses conducted by Conservation Training (www.conservationtraining.org), an open, online learning resource managed by Nature Conservancy, which will help the staff to organize and conduct day-to-day functions of the Centre efficiently.
ENVIS in News (November 2012)
The Centre and its informative website were promoted in newspapers and through emails to queries. Following is a link to the news coverage: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-11-02/mumbai/34877497_1_databases-website-aviary
College Outreach (2012-2013)
ENVIS staff promoted the Centre’s publications among students and libraries in various degree colleges in Mumbai.
Biodiversity Special Science Express (September 2012)
ENVIS staff volunteered for the Biodiversity Special Science Express, CST, Mumbai, where ENVIS was promoted while interacting with the public.
ENVIS Staff contribute to the Citizen Sparrow project (April-June 2012)
ENVIS Centre staff worked in collaboration with the team of Citizen Sparrow project (http://www.citizensparrow.in/files/Citizen_Sparrow_Popular_Report.pdf) and has assisted in collating and categorizing more than 6000 stories obtained during online Citizen Sparrow survey in April–June 2012.
Formation of an advisory committee for the ENVIS Centre on Avian Ecology (August 2012)
An Advisory Committee was established in December 2012 for steering the activities of the ENVIS Centre on Avian Ecology following a suggestion of the Secretariat during the last ENVIS Evaluation workshop (August 2012). The Committee consists of ENVIS staff and Coordinator along with ENVIS personnel from SACON and Kerala, Sikkim and Maharashtra state ENVIS Centres. The first meeting of this Committee was held on December 4, 2012. The meeting will be held once in every six months to ensure smooth functioning of ENVIS-BNHS. A copy of the minutes of the first meeting is enclosed with this report.
Biodiversity Survey (July 2012)
Involvement in carrying out the seventh biodiversity survey of the proposed NTPC Thermal Power Plant, Solapur from 19-26 July 2012.
BNHS Flamingo Festival (March 2010 and April 2011)
Active participation in organizing “BNHS Flamingo Festival 2010”, when ENVIS staff provided all the scientific information on flamingos for the preparation of brochures, banners, panels. The team answered queries posed by members, media during the flamingo watch.
Great Indian Bustard (GIB) Survey in Solapur & Osmanabad districts (2010)
Conservation issues and threat to the Great Indian Bustard Ardeotis nigriceps (an endangered and endemic species to India and Pakistan) were discussed with staff of the Forest Department as well as local people during the surveys. Concern was shown over the development versus wildlife conservation issue.
Preparation of GIB conservation management plan (November 2010)
Great Indian Bustard conservation management plan was prepared for the proposed Solapur Super Thermal Power Project (STPP), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd.
Visit to Rajaji National Park (May 2010)
ENVIS staff visited Rajaji National Park along with Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) workshop participants on 8th May 2010. The trip was arranged by WII staff.
Visit to Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Sikkim (April 2010)
- Staff of ENVIS Centre visited IBAs of Sikkim with the help of Mrs. Usha Lachungpa, Sr. Research Officer, (WL), Sikkim Forest Department and Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN) state coordinator of Sikkim.
Visit to Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre (VCBC), Raja Bhatkhawa (April 2010)
- ENVIS staff visited VCBC and Buxa Tiger Reserve, West Bengal on 12-13th April 2010. Mr. Sachin Ranade, Centre Manager, VCBC provided all technical and scientific information about the functioning of VCBC.
Climate change impacts on the conservation of birds in Asia (2009-2010)
The MacArthur Foundation is supported project, which is coordinated by BirdLife International. BNHS is a collaborative partner in this project, working for the Eastern Himalayan region of India. Detailed databases are being compiled by the project on the distributions of 299 species for Eastern Himalayas that are of conservation concern. These databases are being used to predict changes in species distributions under a variety of climate change scenarios, and to examine how effectively Important Bird Areas networks (including protected areas) in this region will safeguard species of conservation concern and their habitats in the future. The ENVIS Centre is an active participant of this project.
Visit to selected IBAs of the Maharashtra (September 2009)
Selected IBAs of the Maharashtra from Nashik, Ahmednagar and Solapur districts were visited for assessment of the current status of the areas.
Visit to ENVIS Centre, Department of Environment, Government of Maharashtra (October 2008)
ENVIS-BNHS staff visited the ENVIS Centre of the Department of Environment, Government of Maharashtra to discuss improvements in website and functioning.
The New Odyssey Project (2007-2008)
ENVIS Centre actively participated in “The New Odyssey Project”, an international collaboration with Czech Radio and BNHS. The ENVIS Centre at BNHS provided vital information about the Black Stork Ciconia nigra which led the Czech scientists to locate the storks in Maharashtra. The team of scientists successfully trapped two Black Storks in 2007 and one in 2008 and released them unharmed after fitting a satellite transmitter. These storks were monitored via satellite since December 2007. During the above mentioned survey, a series of talks were held at the local educational institutes and copies of BUCEROSwere distributed to the local academicians. Information on the migratory route of the birds and possible effect of climatic factors can be collected through this project.
Great Indian Bustard (GIB) Census (2007-08)
Staff of ENVIS Centre participated in GIB Census carried out by the Forest Department of Bustard Sanctuary, Maharashtra.
City and industrial Developmental Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and BNHS biodiversity project (2007-2008)
The CIDCO and BNHS jointly worked on CIDCO Biodiversity Park Project. Aim of the project was to conserve wildlife in 1200 hectares of forest in Navi Mumbai. The ENVIS centre provided complete technical support such as bird monitoring and census techniques, project implementation and conservation measures. Considerable information on the birds of Navi Mumbai was documented during the project.
Avian Influenza survey (2006)
A preliminary survey of Avian Influenza was carried out in Nashik, Aurangabad and adjoining areas of Maharashtra from where the Avian Influenza was reported. Simultaneously, bird monitoring was carried out in Sewri and Uran areas near Mumbai for the MoEF funded “Avian Influenza Surveillance Project”.
Vulture advocacy programme – south Maharashtra (2005-2007)
The vulture advocacy programme is one of the leading projects of BNHS and RSPB. There is urgent need to make people aware about the decline of vultures in India. Therefore ENVIS Centre undertook initiative to assist the Vulture Advocacy Programme for south Maharashtra. A network of NGOs was established in south Maharashtra for vulture monitoring and advocacy purpose. These NGOs collected vital information about the status of the vultures in four districts of south Maharashtra. They also carried out various awareness programmes through newspapers and local cable TV network. The Centre was able to document good information about the status of the vultures in this area.
Visit by MoEF team (February 2005)
In February 2005 an expert team from the Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) had visited ENVIS Centre at BNHS regarding the Environmental Management Capacity Training Assistance Project (EMCTAP), financially supported by the World Bank. ENVIS staff provided all the relevant information on functioning of the Centre to this team.
Wetland survey (1997-98)
In an effort to document the lesser known wetlands of our country, the ENVIS Centre at the BNHS commissioned a survey to collect baseline data on some of these wetlands. As a beginning, we conducted a pilot survey of the wetlands of Chengalpattu, Ramanathapuram and Kanniyakumari districts of Tamil Nadu during 1997-1998.
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