GANGTOK, 04 Aug: Ecotourism & Conservation Society of Sikkim (ECOSS) held its Annual General Meeting at Hotel Chumbi Residency on 29 July. ECOSS CEO, Rajendra P Gurung welcomed the members and presented the audited accounts with a report on the past activities of ECOSS.
Mr Gurung reported that the major projects and works executed by ECOSS during this period were the NABARD Rural Tourism Cluster Projects in Rey-Mindu village of East Sikkim and Lingee-Payong village of South Sikkim, the Ecotourism and Village Tourism Sensitization Programme conducted for the Department of Tourism, the NABARD Nettle Fibre Pilot Project in Dzongu, Ecotourism Consultancy for M/s Lea Associates in the ADB funded “Improving Connectivity & Destination Management of Cultural & Natural Resources in SE Asia Sub-region Project” of the Tourism Department, preparation of the State Vision Document for Quality Elementary Education for the HRD Department, and various other trainings, workshops and study reports, informs a press release.
Besides these ECOSS had undertaken and participated in numerous other activities and workshops. New projects included the JICA funded State Biodiversity and Forest Management Project (SBFP) of the Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department.
Chairman ECOSS, KN Bhutia who had taken over from PD Rai when the latter was elected to the Lok Sabha, while commenting on ECOSS’s performance said that the organization had weathered difficult times mainly with regard to staff and finances, the release informs.
He observed that with the stabilization of the organisation’s finances, what was needed now was to build on the current situation through the induction of good qualified personnel, taking up selective viable projects and promoting a vibrant and exclusive membership. At the same time he emphasized the need to maintain the credibility of the organization through transparency in its dealings and timely presentation of accounts and reports.
Founding and former Chairman, Lok Sabha MP, PD Rai, remarked that ECOSS’s trajectory had bottomed out and was destined to move to higher levels. He cautioned on the dangers of dilution through too many diverse activities and the need to stick to ECOSS’s core strengths in the ecotourism sphere, according to the release.
He lauded the fact that ECOSS had continued to maintain its brand image and goodwill. He said that in the current environment of high tourism growth, concerns about environmental degradation, water and food security issues and the need to transform our education system, the role of an organization like ECOSS is still very much relevant.
The organization needs to realize where it can make impact and collaborate on a multidimensional level and make concerted efforts to improve its performance while attracting quality membership. He suggested exploring avenues in organic farming, climate change and education, the release adds.
The meeting subsequently elected a new governing body. The members present elected KN Bhutia as chairman, Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamang as vice chairman, Dilip Kumar Darjee as treasurer and PD Rai, Loday Chungyalpa, SD Dhakal, Satyadeep Singh Chettri, Pema Tobgyal and Ravi Pradhan as members of the governing body, the release further informs.
Mr Gurung reported that the major projects and works executed by ECOSS during this period were the NABARD Rural Tourism Cluster Projects in Rey-Mindu village of East Sikkim and Lingee-Payong village of South Sikkim, the Ecotourism and Village Tourism Sensitization Programme conducted for the Department of Tourism, the NABARD Nettle Fibre Pilot Project in Dzongu, Ecotourism Consultancy for M/s Lea Associates in the ADB funded “Improving Connectivity & Destination Management of Cultural & Natural Resources in SE Asia Sub-region Project” of the Tourism Department, preparation of the State Vision Document for Quality Elementary Education for the HRD Department, and various other trainings, workshops and study reports, informs a press release.
Besides these ECOSS had undertaken and participated in numerous other activities and workshops. New projects included the JICA funded State Biodiversity and Forest Management Project (SBFP) of the Forest, Environment and Wildlife Management Department.
Chairman ECOSS, KN Bhutia who had taken over from PD Rai when the latter was elected to the Lok Sabha, while commenting on ECOSS’s performance said that the organization had weathered difficult times mainly with regard to staff and finances, the release informs.
He observed that with the stabilization of the organisation’s finances, what was needed now was to build on the current situation through the induction of good qualified personnel, taking up selective viable projects and promoting a vibrant and exclusive membership. At the same time he emphasized the need to maintain the credibility of the organization through transparency in its dealings and timely presentation of accounts and reports.
Founding and former Chairman, Lok Sabha MP, PD Rai, remarked that ECOSS’s trajectory had bottomed out and was destined to move to higher levels. He cautioned on the dangers of dilution through too many diverse activities and the need to stick to ECOSS’s core strengths in the ecotourism sphere, according to the release.
He lauded the fact that ECOSS had continued to maintain its brand image and goodwill. He said that in the current environment of high tourism growth, concerns about environmental degradation, water and food security issues and the need to transform our education system, the role of an organization like ECOSS is still very much relevant.
The organization needs to realize where it can make impact and collaborate on a multidimensional level and make concerted efforts to improve its performance while attracting quality membership. He suggested exploring avenues in organic farming, climate change and education, the release adds.
The meeting subsequently elected a new governing body. The members present elected KN Bhutia as chairman, Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamang as vice chairman, Dilip Kumar Darjee as treasurer and PD Rai, Loday Chungyalpa, SD Dhakal, Satyadeep Singh Chettri, Pema Tobgyal and Ravi Pradhan as members of the governing body, the release further informs.
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