Page 16 - Aatmava Sarvabhuteshu_Final Report_Neat

OBJECTIVES
In order to promote human and bear co-existence and to To develop a state - of - the - art
disseminate authentic and scientific information about Conservation Outreach Center to
the sloth bear among the locals, the WCB Research organize all the activities and
Foundation has initiated the project “Aatmavat display the ecology, life cycle, and
Sarvabhuteshu” to connect sentiments with the education important information about sloth
amongst the tribals living in and around the sloth bear bears.

habitat. The basic tenet of this programme is to interact To prepare a pocket booklet on
with local communities in a two-way street, providing sloth bears, “Living in the sloth bear
information to them and also gaining traditional landscape” and distribute it among
knowledge from them. the locals and tourists.
To initiate the children's education
The main objective here is to reduce the number of sloth programme in the schools of tribal
bear attacks and change perception of the locals through villages in and around the sloth bear
school education and community awareness and develop habitats.
a two-way flow of the information. Targeting the school Capacity building programme for
children, the teaching component is designed to provide the forest field staff (Foresters,
direct recommendations for reducing conflicts. We generated practical Guards and Chowkidars/ labors) on
solutions by learning from the community their habits, culture, needs for going “Monitoring the sloth bear and
into the forest, fears, myths and misunderstandings about the sloth bear. In dealing with the problem of sloth
order to gather more information about the sloth bear, interviews are recorded bears in the field”.
with the locals and with people who have encountered and been attacked by To organize ToT (Training of
the sloth bear. Trainers, volunteers and teachers) to
disseminate scientific and authentic

The outcome received is used to formulate the education materials, design the information about sloth bears.
awareness programmes, mitigate strategies for the conflict and develop To prepare signages, posters and
conservation plans. flyers about sloth bears and
spreading conservation messages
The outreach programme includes a series of activities to raise awareness for among the villagers.
sloth bears and associated fauna residing in the sloth bear corridor area of
central Gujarat. As a long-term project, the following are the main activities
being carried out under the community outreach programme within the first
two years, and the programme shall be continued through local people and
forest staff after the two years.

© Himanshu Chaudhary

05 Sloth bear Conservation Education Programme 06 Sloth bear Conservation Education Programme
WCB Research Foundation WCB Research Foundation