𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲-𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲

The 𝗛𝗼𝗻’𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗟𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝗺 𝗧𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀, graced the opening session of the 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲-𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 in Thimphu. The session was also attended by Hon’ble Dasho Paljor Jigme Dorji, distinguished dignitaries, representatives from the BMUV-IKI including Ms. Taina Dyckhoff from the German Embassy in New Delhi, conservation partners, stakeholders, and international participants from 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗮, 𝗔𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮, 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗮, 𝗖𝘇𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰, 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮, 𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻, 𝗠𝘆𝗮𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗿, 𝗡𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗹, 𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱.

This much-anticipated international conference marks an important milestone under the five-year project “𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺-𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗵𝘂𝘁𝗮𝗻,” supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), Germany, which concludes this year.

As the project concludes this year, the conference provides a vital platform for knowledge-sharing among researchers, policymakers, conservationists, and development partners to strengthen collaborative conservation efforts for the Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron.

The First International White-bellied Heron Conference, held in 2015, successfully brought together regional partners and potential donors across the White-bellied Heron landscape and laid the foundation for the strong partnerships and ongoing conservation actions we see today.

Together, through collaboration and commitment, we continue working to secure a future for the White-bellied Heron and Bhutan’s precious river ecosystems.

This activity is part of the IKI Project, “Developing Ecosystem-based Solutions for Managing Biodiversity Landscapes in Bhutan,” funded by the BMUV and co-funded by the MAVA Foundation and RSPN.