GANGTOK, 23 May: The Mountain Institute-India, in collaboration with the Pendam Gram Vikash Sangathan and Biodiversity Management Committee of Pendam, organized a “research, awareness and education trek” to the Gadi area of Pendam on 22 May to mark the International Biodiversity Day. The main objective of this program was to “learn the ecotourism potential of the Gadi Cultural Landscape, involvement of local communities on ecotourism services, biodiversity significance and the conservation issues, and finally support the Biodiversity Management Committee, local healers, school students and local people with scientific methods of plants identification, identification techniques for birds and general ecology of the Gadi sacred landscape”, a TMI release explains.
Dr. Bhoj Kumar Acharya, a respected bird specialist, Dr. Tika Nepal, a medicinal plants specialist, Dr. Ghanashyam Sharma, Program Manager TMI-India, Ganga Ram Guragain, chairperson of Pendam Gram Vikash Sangathan, Rudra Prasad Pokhrel, Gram Panchayat, four indigenous health practitioners, 12 school students of Pendam Senior Secondary School, four members of Pendam Biodiversity Management committee, and two school teachers participated in the daylong biodiversity trek.
The trek was coordinated by Dr. Ghanashyam Sharma.
