Eco Volunteer Programme - By Anil Bhatta, Life Member

Recently I attended a 5 day Volunteer Training Programme (VTP) conducted by the Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board along with the Karnataka Forest Department at Bandipur Tiger Reserve in the last week of June.

I was very fortunate to have three other KMA members also as course mates (this was by accident and not design) – Bharat Bommannagounder, Madhu Reddy &  Vallish

Awareness and inspiration to take up the VTP were few fellow KMA members viz. Girish, Harsha, Pankaj & Purnima who had undergone this training earlier and had shared their learnings when we were on treks together. Their learning and experiences was also evident in the way they managed themselves and the group in forest trails.

So what is this VTP? And what’s so special about this training: VTP is an initiative by The Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board to train Volunteers who can assist Karnataka Forest Department in various programs and activities such as tiger estimation, bird surveys, elephant estimation, fire line patrol, crowd management and such other programs. Basically, the department augments and has a pool of trained resources to assist when there are periodic pressure and load on forest department activities. The board has trained around 500 volunteers so far.

This training is designed to sensitise people about biodiversity and conservation, and provides an opportunity for people to explore and experience the wilderness. Participants are trained in aspects of communication, mammal behaviour, bird ecology, reptiles and amphibians, insects, storytelling, ethical wildlife tourism, conservation issues, human animal conflict, basic first aid and the like along with multiple walks, safaris and field visits.  

As you can imagine, since there is a high demand for this training, the wait list is pretty long too. I had registered and put my name in the waitlist a few years back and was lucky to get a slot now.

How did the training go?  Training for our batch was at Bandipur Tiger Reserve and was spread over 5 days. It was a combination of class room sessions and on field activities. Our day started by 6:30 AM and went up to almost 9:30/10PM on some days. It was hard at times…as I had lost touch in being in a class room… would invariably give out a yawn or two!!

Our trainers were super experts in their respective fields – from communication to subject matter experts – ranging from elephants & other mammals, spiders, snakes, other reptiles, frogs, flora and fauna, insects, plant life and more. Some were PhDs, others had deep ‘on field study’ background. One was a VTP alumnus too. We also had some highly knowledgeable departmental officers take training sessions for us.

They covered all aspects – from trivia to serious field matters. For example, why should one be very wary of a Sloth Bear or an Elephant rather than a relatively safer mammal tiger when in the forest!?

Another example was the myth busting of the common first aid for a snake bite – why one should not tie a constriction band, or cut the wound and try to suck the poison out, but rather, calm the victim, take him to a PHC and let the doctors treat. A constriction band almost always ends up in an amputation of the limb!!

Discussions were always candid and real - showed us where folks like me can be of help and where we are just not competent to assist.  As a case in study, if there is a forest fire and volunteers are requested to help, it would be wise for volunteers to support in logistics viz. ferry food, water etc to the fire fighters and not venture to actual fire fighting. It’s just not physically possible for common men like us to attempt to douse the fire. Also, the department would rather spend resources to fight the fire rather than taking care of us injured or tired volunteers.

My learnings: Whilst the learnings were innumerable and always eye opening - for me the most important ones were:

      Understanding of the phenomenal work being undertaken by the Forest Department and the unsung foot solders (forest guards, beat persons). There’s a lot of good work the Government undertakes, but they fail to communicate well. We always assume that NGOs and influencers know better and Government is just stupid. NGOs do have vested interests.

      I gained a lot of practical aspects around protection and conflict management that I was oblivious to earlier.  Many a thing that I thought was ‘right’ and ‘logical’ was actually totally ‘wrong’ and absolutely ‘illogical’.

      There was a lot of miscellany to comprehend. What is volunteering? How can people like me, help?, What kind of volunteering is welcome and what is not?, How volunteers should not end up causing more pressure on the Forests and to the Forest Department and more.

      Lastly, when on a forest trail, I will be much more confident as I am equipped to read the environment around me, anticipate dangers and know how to deal with the same. I will probably observe a bit more and educate my fellow trekkers.

To know more about this VTP programme, feel free to talk to your fellow KMA members whose names are in this article.  If you wish to register for VTP, pl follow this link https://karnatakaecotourism.com/eco_volunteer