Biodiversity is Life

Life is a source of learning. One can learn throughout life. My recent visit to the GYBN workshop in Hyderabad, the capital of Telangana state, India was full of learning. Young souls around Asia enlightened the workshop. It was really an amazing experience for me. A room full of energetic people with different culture and values has provided me ample opportunity to experience diversity. I was overwhelmed by their behavior and innocence. The workshop gave some new hope and aspirations. As a savior to biodiversity, I can start now with some new hopes.

It was a capacity developing workshop of Global Youth Biodiversity Network Asia members. Participants from 17 countries attended the workshop. They shared their journey with biodiversity. It was a global platform for learning and sharing with a common vision of saving the mother planet. The program was also co-hosted by Telangana Forest academy. All Participants stayed in the dormitory of the forest academy. The workshop venue was also there. It was inaugurated by the director of The Telangana forest academy. Facilitators did extensive hard work to make the event successful. They organized each of the sessions in an innovative way. We never felt monotonous. It was getting more interesting as the days were passing.

There were many sessions among some of them were really brainstorming. Sessions on System thinking were very challenging but my team made those and survived. Participants got the opportunity to express their opinion about the sessions through temperature check. Group activity also ignited team bonding which had resulted in some regional groups such as South Asian and central Asian regional group. The group has already taken some important action plan to implement at the grassroots level. We also discussed on Gene Drive, a modern techno-fix. We think technology can fix everything but in reality, it can increase the problems. So more discussion and assessment is a must before applying gene editing in every sector. This will be also discussed in the next COP in November and also a concern of young people.

On the 4th day of the workshop, there was a field trip in Armabad Tiger Reserve. I never saw such a well-managed protected forest before. The huge area of forest was managed with the help of local people. There was a harmony among the people, nature and the animals. The authority has taken ‘No use of Plastic’ initiative in the forest. They set up a check post to facilitate that no plastic can enter into the forest with the tourist. They also provide cloth bags to tourist to bring back the thrown out plastics from the forest. The authority also encouraged the local shop owners to reduce the sale of plastic packaged products. I feel respect for the Chief Conservator of the forest for such an environment-friendly task. To secure the top predator (Tiger) of the forest they chose the bottom-up management plan. Grassland management plan has taken by the forest authority to increase the quality and quantity of grasses in the forest. So that it will help to increase the herbivores and then finally the Carnivores can increase.

People with different culture came together with the same motto to save and protect the biodiversity of the world. Because we believe together we can protect the biodiversity. We are biodiversity and we imagine a future where protecting biodiversity is a way of life.