Bhubaneswar: To enhance community awareness and promote conservation efforts at Chilika Lake, a Mobile Van Awareness Programme (MVAP) was flagged off, Wednesday, at Gopal Krushna Vigyan Higher Secondary School at Subalaya in Ganjam. The initiative is part of the Ramsar site conservation programme, aimed at addressing pollution, bird conservation, and preservation of Irrawaddy dolphins. Guests included divisional forest officer Amlan Nayak, Balugaon and Rambha forest range officer Rashmita Jena, United Nations Yuwaah advocate Soumya Ranjan Biswal, Principal CH Sudhakar, Youth Red Cross counselor Jagadish Chandra Pal, and educationist Bijay Kumar Biswal.
MVAP, under Community Awareness and Participation for Coastal and Oceanic Habitat Preservation (CAP 4 COP), is executed by the Forum for Integrated Development and Research (FIDR) with support from the US Consulate General, Hyderabad. The initiative focuses on reducing pollution around Chilika Lake and to bring changes in community behaviour towards environmental conservation. The mobile van will travel through the villages from Rambha to Mangalajodi in the first phase to motivate local residents for addressing pollution issues and understand the critical role of Chilika’s ecosystem in maintaining their livelihoods.
The Odisha Paryavaran Sanrakshan Abhiyan (OPSA) Trust team will moderate the mobile van activities across various villages and public gatherings. The van will deliver audio announcements to educate and engage the communities on the mission. The second phase of the programme will extend to Satapada area. The CAP 4 COP team has organised three extensive cleanup drives at Mirjapur in Satapada, fishing landing site at Mangalajodi, and Atharbatia in Balugaon. Additionally, murals have been created at various sites to raise community awareness about keeping Chilika pollution-free and preserving its biodiversity. This awareness programme will try to ensure a sustainable and thriving ecosystem for future generations. A large gathering of students witnessed the commencement of the mobile van’s journey, marking the beginning of this programme as one of the significant outreach initiatives.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP