(IN) IUCN President meeting press note

[Guest guest]

*13th Annual Kailash Sankhala Memorial Lecture *

 

*Tiger Trust organized 13th Kailash Sankhala Memorial Lecture in association

with WWF India on 4th August, 2009 at WWF-India auditorium. The event was

attended by 218 delegates including students, representatives of Government

departments, NGOs and media. Every year, Tiger Trust celebrates the

contribution of Lt. Sh. Kailash Sankhala, the first director of Project

Tiger in India who expressed his concern on the dwindling tiger population

as early as in the year 1969. The memorial lecture also marks the completion

of Tiger Trust’s 20 years. Tiger Trust has been working tirelessly for the

protection of tigers and their habitats. The trust has also been involved in

various conservation activities, mainly in capacity building programmes for

imparting legal/technical training in all the major tiger reserves and is

active in various states such as Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and

Andhra Pradesh. Dr. Ashok Khosla, eminent environmentalist and winner

of the United Nations’ Sasakawa Environment Prize 2002 was

the keynote speaker, he spoke on “Ecosystem Services – the Ultimate Source

of Wealth”. Dr. Khosla started his talk with the conservation and protection

of Tigers and then covered the values of different natural resources and how

to use these resources in sustainable manner. Dr. Ashok Khosla also

focusedon the need to maintain the balance of the eco-system to

sustain life-support systems and believes that if our economic activity destroys

the capability of the eco-system, future generations will pay a very heavy cost.

A small presentation was played about the efforts of Lt. Shri Kailash

Sankhala. Ms. Anjana Gosain, Honorary Secretary, Tiger Trust said that, “Lt

Shri kailash Sankhala has given me the responsibility to continue the

efforts of Tiger conservation through Tiger Trust; I am trying my best to do

the same”. Other prominent delegates were Ms. Rina Mitra, Director, Wildlife

Crime Control Bureau, Shri Deependra Singh Shekhawat, Speaker Rajasthan

Assembly, Shri S P Yadav, Deputy Director, National Tiger Conservation

Authority (NTCA), Shri Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO, WWF-India, Shri

R N Mehrotra, Chief Wildlife Warden, Rajasthan Forest Department and Shri

Manjit S. Ahluwalia, Resource Person, Tiger Trust. Giving the vote of

thanks, Amit Sankhala, Trustee, Tiger Trust said that, “with support from

all the forest officials and NGOs we will continue the movement started by

Lt. Shri Kailash Sankhala for the conservation of Tigers and their habitat”.

55 young students from SNS Foundation participated in the event.The event

was supported by SNS Foundation and HSBC bank. *

**

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http://www.travelbizmonitor.com/tourism-industry-benefit-from-use-of-nature-tech\

nology-7733

 

Thursday, August 06, 2009, 20:00 Hrs [iST]*

 

*Tourism industry benefit from use of nature technology *

*By Anish V Punnackattu | New Delhi *

 

*The 13th Kailash Sankhala Memorial Lecture organised by Tiger Trust India

in association with World Wide Fund for Nature- India (WWF- India) was

recently held in New Delhi. The theme of the lecture was ‘Ecosystem

Services- The Ultimate Source of Wealth.’ The function was attended by

Sujit Banerjee, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Anjana Gosain, Honorary

Secretary, Tiger Trust India along with distinguished travel trade

professionals including Ajay Maira, Managing Director, Outdoor Adventures

India and Amit Sankhala, Managing Director, Dynamic Tours. The main aim of

the lecture was to address the issue of declining number of tigers. Ashok

Khosla, President, Development Alternatives pointed out in his lecture that

reduction in flora and fauna was the reason for tigers getting extinct. *

*Speaking on the tourism aspect, Khosla mentioned that the tourism industry

globally will be benefited with the use of nature technology such as Root

Zone Technology; Natural Air Conditioning Technology and Cold Water Air

Conditioning Technology. He said, “Ecosystem services are fundamentally

valuable in their own right and are important for sustainable development.

If we continue to destroy the ecosystem and ignore the value of nature the

future generation may have to pay a heavy cost.” *

*Elaborating on the nature technology, Khosla said that the Root Zone

Technology (works by using natural bacteria and fungi to essentially process

water in the pond and separate waste) can be used for waste water management

in urban infrastructures, as well as buildings in rural areas. For using

Natural Air Conditioning Technology in hotels or any other buildings, the

infrastructure has to be designed in such a way that air passes through

hollow pipes fitted on the roof of the building by natural convection,

thereby cooling the building. A company named Thermax offers this service in

India. The Cold Water Air Conditioning Technology can be used in hotels and

other buildings as it functions by using sea water collected from 200 to 400

metre deep. It then pumps the water through heat exchanger which follows

through pipes fitted on the roof of the building thereby cooling down the

building. At the function, Mandip Singh Soin, Senior Vice President,

Adventure Tour Operators Association of India (ATOAI) assured his assistance

in developing nature friendly infrastructures in future.*