Ministry of Tourism conducts training in Chilika Lake, a Ramsar Site in Odisha under Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme

Ministry of Tourism (MoT) in collaboration with Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) launched the fifth training under the Amrit Dharohar Capacity Building Scheme on 6^th January 2024 for local community members, boat owners, and Forest department officials of Chilika Lake in the presence of Dr Sagnik Chowdhury, Regional Director (East), Ministry of Tourism, Dr M Ramesh, Scientist ‘E’, MoEF&CC, Dr Md Sabir Hussain, Nodal officer and Head, IITTM Bhubaneswar, Dr Amlan Naik, DFO Chilka Wildlife Division and Addl CEO, Chilika Development Authority (CDA), and other officials from CDA, and Forest Department, Govt of Odisha.

Under this initiative, two training programs of 15 days each namely the Alternative Livelihood Program (ALP), and the Paryatan Navik Certificate (PNC) will be conducted. With the help of the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) a total of 60 participants (30 for each course) were identified from the local communities in and around Chilika Lake to impart training and subsequently certify them as nature guides.

This is part of the ongoing effort to enhance livelihood opportunities for local communities through harnessing the nature-tourism potential of the Ramsar Sites across the country under the Amrit Dharohar Initiative of the MoEF&CC. In the first phase of this program, five priority Ramsar sites were identified namely Sultanpur National Park, Sirpur Wetland, Yashwant Sagar, Bhitarkanika National Park, and Chilika Lake. The first three training programs for Sultanpur National Park, Sirpur Wetland, and Yashwant Sagar were successfully completed in December 2023 and the fourth training that was inaugurated on 5^th January 2024 is currently undergoing.