The Department of Environmental Science, School of Environmental Science and Management (SESM) and the Outreach, Extension and Continuing Education (OECE) of Independent University, Bangladesh jointly organized a workshop titled “Youth Participation in Conservation” in the district of Bakerganj in Barisal on the 11th and 12th of January 2018. The two day workshop targeted school children and entailed raising awareness amongst the local youth regarding the importance of their role in conservation.
The focus of the workshop derived from a project already being undertaken in Bakerganj by SESM on the conservation of jackals in the area. For various reasons, jackals of this area are facing violence from the residents and the number of jackals is reducing at an alarming rate. Thus, the project aims to reduce this problem through viable economic solutions for the local people. The project also aims at researching in-depth jackal behavior in response to human presence; a study that is being pioneered by SESM.
The two day workshop, done with twenty female students of a local school, mainly entailed sessions on leadership skills, conflict management and conservation itself. It also included sessions that elaborated on IUB itself and the jackal project being undertaken in the area.
In light of the success with the workshop in Bakerganj, SESM and OECE look to replicate it throughout many other districts in the country with the aim of continuing to raise awareness regarding the issues in the workshop, and also in hopes of spreading education to the remotest corners of Bangladesh.
JPG
