Communities are important stakeholders, vital for the successful implementation of any environmental conservation activities. To enhance their capacity to support the conservation of White-bellied Heron, a day-long workshop was conducted on 26 November, 2022 for the communities residing along WBH landscapes in Punatsangchhu and Mangdechhu basins.

For the last many years, communities enrolled as LCSG initiated by RSPN helped in strengthening the conservation of White-bellied Herons in Bhutan. The establishment of LCSG was initiated with the aim to minimize the increasing threats compounded by trends in global environmental issues and rapid developmental activities taking place. LCSGs at the grass-root level provide a platform for the local communities to address their concerns for addressing environmental issues in their locality. The members became resourceful in promoting RSPN’s core mandate of conserving the environment through sustainable approaches. They act as a key agent in reaching out to many of the unreachable communities to enhance the conservation of an environment. Today, RSPN has more than 30 people identified as LCSG members.

 

This workshop was organized for the interested communities wishing to become new members of LCSG. The participants included both male and female participants residing within the White-bellied Heron Landscape. The workshop held at Tingtibi in Zhemgang was also attended by officials of the Department of Forests and Park Services -the key partners for implementing the project activities.

The workshop was mainly targeted towards enhancing the network for conservation activities and tailored for the participants to know more about the White-bellied Heron, their ecological roles, monitoring protocols and the role of communities in conserving the species. The workshop included both classroom lectures and hands-on sessions.

 

With this training, the number of LCSG members have now doubled. The members represent diverse communities along the White-bellied Heron landscape with the same goal of supporting the conservation of the species and other environmental conservation activities. The new members of LCSGs were also encouraged to take their role actively taking part in any conservation activities henceforth and reminded that their effort will greatly contribute to realizing the nation’s conservation goals.

 

The activity is part of the ongoing project funded by the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), Germany through the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and co-funded by MAVA foundation, Switzerland, and RSPN.