A three-week short course for the students of Federation University, Australia took off from this January 6 at the NTNC-Biodiversity Conservation Centre (NTNC-BCC) in Chitwan. Undertaken as a science exchange programme, a total 14 students attended our short course to learn about community-based conservation initiatives in Nepal. During this time, they were acquainted about Nepalese rural culture and society, and made to observe firsthand the role of communities in day-to-day conservation, including developing hands-on skills in wildlife and habitat monitoring. At the end of the short course, his Excellency Ambassador of Australia for Nepal, Mr. Peter Budd made a visit to the NTNC-BCC office to encourage students to take back home important lessons as well as fond memories. Four students from the group will continue to stay in Nepal for three more weeks before they can complete the short course on veterinary health care of wildlife in Nepal.
Elsewhere, NTNC-Bardia Conservation Programme also collaborated with Resources Himalaya Foundation to conduct an intensive wildlife training package for university graduates of Nepal. A total of 10 university graduates attended the 12 days training package (17-28 January) on wildlife research and monitoring that included detailed procedures of animal identification, survey and monitoring.
