Films and Slide Shows
Whenever possible, WPSI staff
members interact with schools, colleges and other interested groups
using wildlife films and slide shows to raise urgently needed awareness
on conservation issues. Today there is growing concern about India's
wildlife, and in particular our dwindling tiger population. Both adults
and children need to be empowered with the right information and
direction on how they can help. Of particular interest is Shekar
Dattatri's path-breaking new film 'The Truth About Tigers'. This film
is an unflinching portrayal of the ground realities that prevail in our
forests and an invaluable tool for anybody who is interested in helping
to save our national animal. It guides the viewer through the life of
the tiger, from birth to death, clearly explaining the reasons why
tigers are declining. More importantly, the film provides
pointers on what the government should do to reverse the decline, and
what ordinary citizens can meaningfully do to contribute. An
accompanying website, www.truthabouttigers.org provides additional
information on tigers and their conservation. We have assisted in the
distribution of thousands of copies of Shekar Dattatri's path-breaking
film.
WPSI
launched its Tiger Conservation Awareness Programme in the tiger
landscapes of Central India in 2011. The programme uses colourful
customised audio-visual vans, decorated with tiger stripes, to conduct
film screenings of a Hindi language version of 'The Truth About
Tigers' and awareness meetings in the villages and markets
fringing Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Tadoba and Pench tiger landscapes. To date
we have covered more than 550 villages reaching out to an audience of
over 100,000 villagers. The aim is to reduce tiger poaching and
human-wildlife conflict by generating conservation awareness and
encouraging meaningful dialogues on the issue. Villagers are motivated
to view their wildlife as an asset rather than a threat. The programme
is also used to disseminate information on the WPSI Secret Information
Reward Scheme to gather poaching evidence, and to assist communities by
informing them of government projects that they could benefit from.
In
2011, WPSI acquired its first van, which covered 69 villages in the
year, reaching out to an audience of approximately 15,610 villagers. A
second van was acquired in 2012, and that year the two vans
collectively covered 204 villages engaging approximately 32,240
villagers. In 2013, the vans covered 268 villages, reaching out to
55,405 villagers. This year WPSI has added yet another van to the
programme to extend its reach to the villages located in and around the
Kanha-Pench corridor and Pench Tiger Reserve. The programme is proving
to be successful in reducing corruption and speeding up compensation
claims, both issues that will have a deep impact on the way the local
communities view the wildlife of their areas.
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