India REPORT IND Kerala State Office 2015
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ANNUAL -India REPORT IND Kerala State Office 2015 KASARAGOD KANNUR WAYANAD KOZHIKODE MALAPPURAM PALAKKAD Palakkad THRISSUR ERNAKULAM IDUKKI ANNUAL Kochi KOTTAYAM Kottayam Allappuzha ALLAPPUZHA REPORT PATHANAMTHITTA KOLLAM 2014 - 2015 Kollam THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Thiruvananthapuram [Trivandrum] WWF’s mission ‘To stop the degradation of our planet’s natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature’ ACKNOWLEDGEMENT We would like to take this opportunity to thank one and all who have contributed in some way or the other, directly or indirectly, to help us fulfill our mission of nature conservation and environment protection, mainly with regard to the needs of Kerala State. We express our special thanks and regards to Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO who has always given ear to all our requests and supported us in immense ways in fulfilling our mission well. Our special thanks goes to Dr. Sejal Worah, Programme Director who has always guided us with her advice and inputs. We extend our thanks to Mr. Karan Bhalla, Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Vivek Dayal, Director-Finance, Mr. Lovekesh Wadhwa, Director-Institutional Development, Gp. Cpt. Naresh Kapila, Director-HR & Manpower, Dr. Diwakar Sharma, Head-Programme Management (M&E) and Lt. Col. Sanjeev Singh Rana, Director-Operations. The support given by the other heads and staff at the Secretariat are also duly acknowledged, namely Ms. Vishaish Uppal, Dr.T.S. Panwar, Dr. Shekar Kumar Niraj, Ms. Moulika Arabhi, Mr. Vinod M. and others. We would like to place on record our most sincere thanks to Mr. G. Vijayaraghavan, Chairman and Mr.C. Balagopal, Vice-Chairman of the Kerala State Advisory Board for all their guidance and support. Mr. A.V.George, Mr. Suresh Elamon, Mr. Ravi DeeCee, Dr. C. Bhaskaran, Mr. Sunilkumar, Prof. Saji Gopinath, Members of the SAB was always there by our side with all possible support whenever and wherever we have needed them. The work freedom that they have given us is what has helped us to reach such heights. We would like to thank all our supporters, partners and associates in our various projects i.e. Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, GoI, CPREEC, Chennai, Kerala Forests and Wildlife Department, Department of Environment and Climate Change, GoK, Department of Museums & Zoos, Kerala State Biodiversity Board, KSEB, Energy Management Centre, WISE Pune, Allianz Cornhill, HSBC, other government and non-government departments. Our wide range of EE programmes would not have been possible without the help and support of various departments and agencies, namely MoEF & CC, KSBB, CED, AMAS, and a host of others. We would like to thank all the District Coordinators who have invested time and resources in supporting us in our various programmes and has also gone one step ahead in bringing up their own initiatives in organizing environment education and awareness programmes and also in addressing local conservation issues. We thank all our network members i.e. volunteers, intern students, partners, nature clubs, youth clubs, church based institutions, schools and colleges and all others who have partnered in fulfilling our mission in the State. We would like to place on record our gratitude to our media friends in The New Indian Express and The Hindu for their full fledged support to all our projects and programmes by giving very good coverage through the print media. We also thank Mr. Godfrey Das and Ms. Sreelekha, Godfrey’s Graphics for all their support in making our collaterals like invitations, posters, handbooks, exhibition panels etc. Renjan Mathew Varghese (State Director) FROM THE CHAIRMAN’S DESK I am very proud to present to you the Annual Report of WWF-India Kerala State Office for 2014- 15. With a very small team and limited resources available, the Team has been able to go a long way in living out the mission of WWF in the State. Through some of the ongoing and completed projects we have been able to address some of the most relevant environmental issues in Kerala, namely the extent of laterite mining across Kerala and its direct and indirect impacts on topography, hydrology, biodiversity, livelihoods etc. The project on preparation of position paper on Climate Change in Kerala is also very relevant in the background that we have already come out with the State Action Plan on Climate Change and this extensive compilation of the status of manifestation of climate change in Kerala, its contributing and impacting sectors, ongoing projects, expertise and infrastructure available, data and research gaps etc. will go a long way in creating a clear road map for addressing and mitigating climate change in the local context. The projects on energy conservation and shift to renewable energy is also very relevant for Kerala based on the fact that, with increasing population and ever increasing per capita energy consumption, and with almost all major hydro potential already tapped and with absolutely no scope for thermal and nuclear power generation sources, the only option for Kerala is to move on the path of energy conservation and make a major shift to non- conventional energy sources like wind and solar, for which Kerala has good potential as already proved by the study by WWF and WISE. Our other major contribution is towards the conservation of natural habitats and its inhabiting flora and fauna. Our projects and programmes mainly on the survey and study of birds are very unique and they are creating baseline data year after year, be it about resident or migratory, common or endangered bird species and their status, threats and related issues. Our wide range of environment education, awareness and outreach programmes on different but very relevant themes targeting various sections of the society including students, youth, Teachers, Teacher Trainees, and the general public have been well received because of its top quality and content. Even though we may not be able to assess or see its direct impacts now, but we are sure that each and every programme has facilitated in creating responsible green citizens of tomorrow. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the other Members of the State Advisory Board for their support and co-operation and also congratulate the WWF Kerala staff team for their exemplary work. I would also like to thank all our supporters, sponsors and associates for all their co-operation in our wide range of projects and programmes. With so much of nature’s bounty in Kerala and with increasing development pressure, we have a big task ahead to keep development and conservation in check and balance and I hope that we will be able to continue the good work in the future and also make an effort to take it the next level. G. Vijaya Raghavan FROM THE STATE DIRECTOR’S DESK With an overwhelming sense of delight and gratitude, I present the Annual Report for 2014-15. First of all, I would like to congratulate my team for standing by me, in all the easy and hard circumstances, to accomplish what we set forth, with the limited manpower and resources that we had in hand. I can very proudly say that we have been able to accomplish this only because of the synergy that exists within our team and I hope and pray that it continues so in the years to come. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all our network members in various forms – volunteers, associates, supporters, sponsors etc who has really helped us to go that extra mile in living out the WWF mission in Kerala. Our network is our strength and it is very unique that it has people from various age groups and covers all sections of the society. Let us stand united and achieve more. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chairman and the Members of the State Advisory Board for their timely advice, guidance and support. With increasing development pressure, the challenges that we already have to deal with and the ones to come in future are varied and huge. United we can stand, divided we fall. Hence we need the support from all sections of the society including district administration, LSGIs, bureaucrats, politicians, policy and decision makers, students, youth, general public, senior citizens to come forward, stand shoulder to shoulder and raise our voice and say together that we want a living plant today, tomorrow and for many more days to come. We should limit ourselves to our needs. We should be responsible citizens and good stewards. For the sake of nature and environment, we should keep aside our geographical, demographical, religious, social and other such divides and come together with one mind and voice. Many a times we speak for the voiceless or at other times for the underprivileged. As Albert Einstein has put it ‘those who had the privilege to know, has the greater responsibility to act’. We have a unique calling. Let us be proud about it and stand strong. We might not be appreciated now for what we do. We might even be criticized. But we need not fear, since we know for sure that what we do is absolutely true and good, for ourselves, for other living forms and for our Planet too, now and forever. Let us keep up the good work that we do. Renjan Mathew Varghese STATE ADVISORY BOARD PROFILE Mr. G. Vijayaraghavan Chairman (Member, Kerala State Planning Board & Director, SunTec) Mr. C. Balagopal, Vice-Chairman (Managing Director, Terumo Penpol) Mr. A.V. George, Member (Chairman, AVG Group of Companies, Kottayam) Dr.C. Bhaskaran, Member (Professor, Dept. of Extension, Kerala Agriculture University) Mr. Ravi DeeCee, Member (CEO, DC Books) Mr. C.