This year's World Environment Day's theme was ¨Illegal Wildlife Trade¨,a topic which is of great importance in the Himalaya region. WED2016 was used as an occasion to organize an array of successful events across the Himalayas.  The vast demand for products such as wool, fur, leather, and medicines is driving illegal wildlife trade of the already under-threat species of Tiger, Red Panda, Asian Elephant, Greater one-horned Rhinocerus, and the Snow Leopard.

Located in the Northeastern part of India, the state of Uttarkhad shares its boundaries with China in the North and Nepal in the East. The source of both the Ganga and the Yamuna rivers are in this state. 

Here are some materials that may be useful for RCE members in general and to prepare for IPBES related events in particular.

The following links are interesting e-learning materials on the IPBES work programmes.

Work Programmes

 e-learning tools 

Videos

The IPBES task force and technical support unit on capacity-building are pleased to invite you to watch the recorded webinar in the pilot of the IPBES Webinar Series.

The webinar  "The IPBES Assessment Process" from 7 April 2016 is now online here. 

In this webinar, the IPBES task force and technical support unit partnered with Ivar Baste, IPBES Bureau member and co-chair of the IPBES task force on capacity-building.

The Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in the Central Himalayas of the Indian Himalayan Region, is largely dominated by biodiversity rich forest ecosystem thus making it one of the most unique yet fragile ecosystems. The majority of the traditional hill communities are dependent on natural resources for food, fruits, fuel wood, and fodder along with a variety of ecological services. Traditional belief was that the natural resources are essential for the livelihood and ecological security of mountain regions.

On the occasion of World’s Wetland Day 2016, CEE Himalaya together with the JSW Foundation and RCE Srinagar organized a series of activities for the inhabitants of Kuroli village, a small and picturesque village, located in Bhatwari Block in Uttarkashi district of Uttarakhand. Youths, adults, elderly, school children, teachers, and many others participated in the event.

RCE Greater Dhaka organized a field trip on biodiversity on 28th Nov, 2015. The trip organized by the Department of Environmental Science was led by Prof. Rahman and Dr Dastagir for 150 students currently enrolled in sustainability related courses at the International University of Business Agriculture and Technology (IUBAT). This initiative was part of the planned semester activity of the students. The National Botanical Garden of Bangladesh with an area of approximately 84 hectares is located at Mirpur in Dhaka. Established in 1961, it is the largest botanical garden in Bangladesh.

The Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), established in 2012, is an independent intergovernmental body open to all member countries of the United Nations. The members are committed to building IPBES as the leading intergovernmental body for assessing the state of the planet's biodiversity, its ecosystems and the essential services they provide to society.