Pioneering Rural Futures in the Eastern Himalayas September 2018
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From Snowline to Sealine
Current Focus: Rural Futures across Eastern Himalayas to create prototypes for extending impacts to the rest of the 2 Himalayan Region
MILESTONES OF BALIPARA FOUNDATION
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Who We Are •
Balipara Foundation, growing since 2007
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Field offices: Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark (Balipara, Assam), Elephant Country (Udalguri, Assam)
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Knowledge Centres: Guwahati & Mumbai
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Community based conservation efforts using the proprietary concept of NaturenomicsTM & Rural Futures
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4 Verticals of Rural Futures: Elephant Country, Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark, Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM Forum, Knowledge & Publications
Where We Are •
Eastern Himalayas: Eastern Nepal, North Bengal, Bhutan, North East Indian states, Bangladesh
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3 of 34 global biodiversity hotspots,
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Social Challenges: Rapid Human Development
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Economic Challenges: Rising Income disparity & decreasing livelihoods opportunities
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Environmental Challenges: Degradation of soil & arsenic contamination of water sources, declining biodiversity, reducing green cover
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OUR INITIATIVES ELEPHANT COUNTRY
ELEPHANT COUNTRY …
EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK
EASTERN HIMALAYAN ARKquam magna nec quis, lorem nunc. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nibhBOTANIC est. A magna maecenas, Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.
EASTERN HIMALAYAN NATURENOMICS FORUM
TM FORUM EASTERN NATURENOMICS Lorem HIMALAYAN ipsum dolor sit amet, nibh est. A magna maecenas, quam magna nec quis, lorem nunc. Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.
KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS
KNOWLEDGE & Lorem ipsum sit amet, nibh est. A magna maecenas, quam magna nec quis, lorem nunc. KNOWLEDGE &dolor PUBLICATIONS PUBLICATIONS Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.
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Learning Through Experimentation
Solar Lighting
Gladiolus
Bee Keeping
Biogas
Solar Water Heater
Vermicomposting
Fishery
Poultry
Ghost Peppers
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UDALGURI LANDSCAPE MISSION • • • • •
Community based Habitat Restoration Project Afforestation of 500 ha. Impacting 12 villages Planting 1 million trees over years Aiming to create 25,000+ man-days of work for local communities Direct income generation of INR 7.6 million
ASIAN ELEPHANT SECRETARIAT •
ELEPHANT COUNTRY
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Digital platform for collaborative Asian Elephant Conservation Prototype live at www.elephantcountry.org Features include: Encyclopedia, Interaction platform, live helpline number
ELEPHANT COUNTRY PRODUCTS • •
Creating incentives for communities living alongside Asian Elephants Raising awareness about Asian Elephant ecosystems including communities, habitats, etc.
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100,000+ PLANTS 300+ SPECIES
EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK
72+ BUTTERFLY SPECIES
75+ BIRD SPECIES
14+ SNAKE SPECIES
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10 THEMATIC SECTIONS Orchidarium Herbarium Bambusetum Fern House Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Socio-economic Plants Aquatic Plants Eastern Himalayan Ecosystem replica Economic Botany Organic Garden 8
WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITIES • • •
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Social Enterprise run by members of the local communities Created 200,000+ ‘man-days’ of work Creating multiplier effects in terms of complementary services & livelihood opportunities in neighbouring communities Promoting the culture, biodiversity, cuisine and lifestyle of the Eastern Himalayas Centre for propagation of threatened, endemic and economically important plant species Community-based model to promote skilling, training & local livelihoods Offering workshops and services for smart afforestation techniques Offers a unique indoor-outdoor learning models which prioritizes experience over pedagogy Creating co-learning to highlight local experts Combines traditional knowledge and modern learning Offers 1 day, 1 week and 8 week courses 9
EDUCATION
Over 1000 students & community members have attended workshops since inception of
Creating a unique learning experience combining nature, traditional knowledge & new learning techniques to inspire a new generation of eco-crusaders
Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM School
Some Workshops held: Nursery Techniques
Coconut Shell Craft
Snake Awareness
Bamboo Utilization
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SOCIAL RESTORATION PROJECT
145 years of Cultural Inheritance & 1000 years of Environmental Heritage of the Eastern Himalayas • Over 11,000 guests from over 40 countries
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Trained and Employed over 300 people from local communities
• Nurtured and tended to by local guardians – the communities of Eastern Himalayas
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Restoration of the 145 Year Old Heritage Bungalow
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Awardee of TripAdvisor 2018 Certificate of Excellence 11
ETHNIC ECO- TOURISM THROUGH HOMESTAYS Organic & local living through village homestay with Mishing, Garo, Nyishi and other ethnic communities for meaningful tourism in the Eastern Himalayas
Garo Village
Mishing Village
Nyishi Village 12
A PLATFORM FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION •
2800+ participants since 2014
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20+ countries and 22 Indian States represented
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Participants included • Economists, Scientists, Botanists • Conservationists, Wildlife Enthusiasts, Ecologists • Government and Forest Department officials • Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders, • Lawyers, Educators, Journalists, Students • Architects
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70+ grassroots innovators awarded
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Rs. 1cr+ invested in impact creation
EASTERN HIMALAYAN NATURENOMICSTM FORUM
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OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT 70 Case Studies of Eco Champions across 10 categories highlighted since 2013 INR 4.3+ million risk capital invested in projects led by these Eco champions
Others
2013 - 2017
3.2+ million awarded to grassroots champions
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INITIATIVES WITH PARTNERS (Some examples)
Facilitated the process of organic transformation in Hathikuli
Restoration of Misa Polo Club
Solar Light Distribution in association with MASK
Giveaways of uniform to Kaziranga National Park Forest Guards in association with WCT
Assessing the current status of Mushroom cultivation in NE India with Kunming Institute of Botany
Biodiversity Asssesment Audit with Dept. of Bio Technology, Govt.of India & ATREE 15
COMMUNICATION FOOTPRINT
More than 100 Articles in leading publications – Covered by leading in English, Assamese, Japanese, French Coverage in 5 languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Japanese & French 4 Prime Time Television Interviews
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KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS
NATURENOMICS PUBLICATIONS – 6 Volumes
THE HIMALAYAN- 1 No.
PROGRESS & IMPACT REPORT - 5 Volumes
PARTNERED PUBLICATIONS- 2 Nos.
NEWSLETTERS- 4 Volumes
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KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS NATURENOMICS PUBLICATIONS – 6 Volumes
PARTNERED PUBLICATIONS- 2 Nos.
NaturenomicsTM 1.0: Naturenomics
Hidden Treasures by Naresh Swami
NaturenomicsTM 2.0: Developing the Naturenomics Model
The Medicinal Plants by Jatindra Sharma, IFSS
NaturenomicsTM 3.0: Ecological Competitiveness for Economic Sustainability NaturenomicsTM 4.0: Optimizing Biodiversity and Social Security in Indian Mining Areas NaturenomicsTM 5.0: Reflections on Managing Water NaturenomicsTM 6.0: Eco- Champions of Eastern Himalayas OTHERS Handbook on Biodiversity of Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark Ethnobotany 18
VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMS Eduardo Ausocua from Spain usesd his creativity to build an Earth friendly wall from glass & mud
Wharton Social Impact Consultants
Livelihood, Sustainability and Conservation Volunteering Program for 4 Interns from Ashoka University
Habitat Management Program for Hari Badale
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OTHER EXPERIMENTS & TRANSFORMATION Eco Housing in Assam Elevating the tea workers quality of life by developing smart eco housing project
Acquaponics To set an example of a farming method which can be adopted by farmers without large farm lands
Solar Water Purifier Low-cost solar water purifier for rural households
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RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS Indo-China Partnership on Climate Change Secretariat
A Member of REDD+ Working Group
A Member of Mountain Partnership
Wild Mahseer
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BALIPARA FOUNDATION STRUCURE
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PARTNERSHIPS PARTNERSHIPS
CURRENT
PROPOSED
Knowledge Partnerships
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Local Partnerships
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Investment Partnerships
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CURRENT PARTNERS Knowledge: Rain Forest Research Institute, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Annapurna Seed Library, Japan Environmental Education Forum, Kunming Institute of Botany, Indraprastha College for Women, Kokugakuin University, Sanctuary Asia, ATREE, Tezpur University, Missouri Botanical Garden, Current Conservation, Devex Asia Correspondent Local: MASK, Pakke Paga Festival Committee, Khasi Hills Community, Green Guard Organisation Investment: Tata Trusts, Axis Bank Foundation
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PARTNERS IN OUR 10 YEARS JOURNEY
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BALIPARA FOUNDATION ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Anil Kumar, Axis Bank Foundation
Dr. Kamal Bawa, ATREE
Dr. Anish Andheria, Wildlife Conservation Trust
Manoj Badale, Blenhelm Chalcot
Anindita Phukan, Altum Law
Nicholas Claxton, WOW Media Communications Group
Dr. Aparna Watve, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Dr. Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden Belinda Wright, Wildlife Protection Society of India Rajeev Goyal, KTK- Belt Bittu Sahgal, Sanctuary Asia
Richard Leitch, River Journeys & Bungalows of India Dasho Paljor Dorji, The Royal Government of Bhutan Rolf Von Bueren, Lotus Arts De Vivre Deitrich Schmidt- Vogt, University of Freiburg Samir Menon, Tata Consultancy Services Diana Owen, Royal Overseas League
Sentila Yanger, Tribal Weaves Dr. Dibakar Goswami, Nuclear Waste Program Sunayana Sarkar, NMIMS University Dr. Indira Khurana, Water Expert Prof. Jianchu Xu, Kunming Institute of Botany
Shankar Venkateswaran, Ex- Tata Sustainability Group
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OUR STORIES Eastern Himalayas: Balipara Foundation Journey https://bit.ly/2iCdoKq Rural Futures: Udalguri Landscape Mission https://bit.ly/2x6lLFD Seeds: Eastern Himaalayan Botanic Ark https://bit.ly/2N6HlnC
EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK IN RESIDENCE AT WILD MAHSEER https://bit.ly/2x6WOJE
https://bit.ly/2OeGDkV
https://bit.ly/2N9OvHA
https://twitter.com/naturenomics https://bit.ly/2NzApyO
https://bit.ly/2x8HpZ1
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