Local Initiatives

Nijhum Dweep Wetland Education and Training Centre

In Bangladesh, wetland study projects were carried out in a programme coordinated by Nijhum Dweep Wetland Centre of Nature Conservation Committee (NCC). A total of 84 students from seven schools participated in the Interschool Education Programme. Among the seven participating schools, four are from the Central South Coast Islands and three from the main land. Representatives of respective wetland centres visited all the study sites and helped, guided and directed students to carry out their assigned studies. Logistic and instrumental support was provided to every participating school. The studies were carried out between 8 November 2007 and 12 January 2008.

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Conservation Action Trust

Mumbai Metropolitan region is a unique place where there is close proximity of sensitive ecosystems to the densely populated urban areas with tremendous pressure on natural ecosystem. The schools selected for the programme were from the lower and lower-middle income groups, a large representative of the population. Conservation Action Trust has made an attempt to reach out to this section of the society as they are the ones who directly put pressures on the mangrove ecosystems, though unintentionally. A total of 7 teams participated and worked dedicatedly on various issues affecting the mangrove habitats in Mumbai. 4 projects have been selected for the second round assessment.

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Korean Federation for Environmental Movement

In order to enhance students' understanding of wetland ecosystem, KFEM and Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) of Korean Government have organised the 'Asia Wetland Research Competition 2007/2008 commemorating World Wetlands Day (2 Feb 2008)'. Students are encouraged to investigate the ecosystem of their locals, its relationship of humans and wetlands, and the role of the youth to keep healthy wetland. A total of 31 teams from 24 schools in South Korea have participated in the competition. 10 teams will be chosen by the Assessment Committee of Korea and will enter the assessment on the preliminary contest. Finally top 5 teams shall participate in the second round assessment with teams from WLI-Asia network.

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Akuarium Tunku Abdul Rahman (Zoo Negara)

Akuarium Tunku Abdul Rahman (ATAR) at Zoo Negara, is one of the oldest public aquariums in the Malaysia and has been operating since 1972. ATAR is the first and only public aquarium in Malaysia that centralizes around wetland conservation and education in Malaysia with the overall theme of ‘The Malaysian River Journey’ which encompasses the various habitats found along a typical river from the Upper River Zone at mountain top right down to the Marine Zone in the sea. The educational project with the International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL) aims to cover various adaptations of fish found in these zones. This in turn would be used as part of the on going education program at ATAR to educate visitors about the rich biological diversity of fish found in Malaysian rivers.

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Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve

Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Singapore, arranged for 2 teams of students from Kuo Chuan Presbyterian Secondary School to participate in the WLI-Asia Inter-school Education Programme. Through this programme, the students get to learn more about their wetland heritage and understand the challenges of conducting research work in a wetland setting.

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Muraviovka park for Sustainable Land Use

Muraviovka Park Nature Centre entered the WLI-Asia I nterschool Programme contest in September 2007–January 2008 to attract attention of local people and encourage actions to conserve the Amur River Basin, which is the boarder river with China. 11 teams from 9 schools participated in the programme. We selected 5 teams and shared their research studies with other centres of WLI-Asia. Muraviovka Park Nature Centre has contacts of more than 100 schools in Amur Region and Primorski and Khabarovski Krai (total area is about 400 thousand square km, which is around 2.3% of the total area of Russia).

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Hong Kong Wetland Park

In order to enhance students' understanding of Hong Kong's wetland environment and encourage students to explore the close relationship of wetlands and humans, the Hong Kong Wetland Park of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government has organized the 'Wetland Project Study Competition 2007/08' from October 2007 to January 2008. A total of 32 teams from 22 secondary schools in Hong Kong have participated in the competition. The top 5 teams will enter the second round assessment together with teams from across the WLI-Asia network.

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