Naropa Fellows undertook a comprehensive study of sustainable development and conservation models in the Himalayan region.
The study was part of a specialised ‘Himalayan SustainableDevelopment and Conservation’ course to understand and document thebiodiversity of Himalayan region conducted by Ashoka Trust for Research inEcology and the Environment (ATREE), a statement here said.
The study was aimed to generate rigorous interdisciplinaryknowledge for achieving environmental conservation and sustainable development,to enable the use of this knowledge by policy makers and society, and to trainthe next generation of environmental leaders.
Some of the intended learning outcomes from this course wereto understand the biodiversity around us and develop ways to document and alsouse this knowledge for eco-tourism purposes, it said.
“The course acquainted Naropa Fellows about simple citizenscience protocols that contribute to enhancing the understanding of Himalayanecosystem and encourage them to engage as ecotourism or cultural tourismoperators,” it said.
“They were shown techniques for data collection, compilationand managing using mobile platforms like the Open Data Kit and use thecollected data as content for creating virtual tours using Google suite oftools, which could be used by Eco guides to depict the natural history of theregion,” it said. The course on Climate Policy and Renewable Energy, gavestudents an overview of the international discussions around climate change.
The Fellows also went on a field trip to Guphuks, Gyavillage and the Ladakh Renewable Energy Development Agencysolar plant as partof the course. The objective of thisfield trip was to introduce the field of ecosystems services and well-being,combining ecological and well being assessments.