Doon University and WII signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the collaborative Ph.D program
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In commemoration of International Mountain Day (celebrated on 11th December every year). Dr. Gautam Talukdar, Faculty In-Charge initiated the programme with an overview of the importance of mountains and their notable presence on UNESCO's Natural/Mixed World Heritage Sites' list. Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director, WII expressed his pleasure at the occasion where all participants who are fascinated by mountains have come together to learn and appreciate their critical contribution. He further shared his practical experience of managing a mountain World Heritage Site in India.   Dr. S Sathyakumar, Scientist - G, WII and Keynote Speaker of the day delved into a comparative analysis of 4 iconic Himalayan World Heritage Sites - those of GHNP, Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers, Khangchendzonga and Sagarmatha - with examples of their spectacular beauty, unique biodiversity and issues affecting their Outstanding Universal Values. He also fielded audience questions on the mountains' larger connections with people who lived further away from them, administrative overlaps and addressing the impact of invasive species. About 50 participants including those based in France, Central America and Myanmar were registered in the webinar. 

On Tuesday, 7th December, 13:00-14:30 Indian Standard Time, WII-C2C hosted a webinar on "Mangroves of Plenty: Ecosystem Services in World Heritage Sites". Dr. Gautam Talukdar, Faculty In-Charge, WII-C2C initiated and anchored the webinar emphasising the importance of mangroves as an ecosystem. Dr. Shizuka Hashimoto, Associate Professor, University of Tokyo, Japan spoke on “Exploring Ecosystem Services of Ishigaki, Japan”. He provided a brief introduction to the Asia-Pacific Network's (APN) Mangrove Project before detailing the research done on the natural and cultural ecosystem services provided by the mangroves in the popular Japanese tourist destination of Ishigaki Island.

Dr. Rajarshi Dasgupta, Senior Policy Researcher, IGES, Japan presented the “Insight into Conservation & Management of Mangroves in Indian Sundarban”. He conveyed the landscape history of the Sundarban Delta before extensively discussing the plausible future scenarios and two studies done in the mangroves for various factors like market forces, climate change, sustainability and non-material values. Around 30 participants from across the Asia-Pacific region participated in the webinar.

The WII-C2C for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region organized a webinar on “Bastions of Conservation: Natural Heritage in the Asia Pacific” on Thursday, the 18th of November. In his extensive talk, the keynote speaker, Mr. Guy Debonnet, Chief of Unit – Natural Heritage, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO Paris began with the international significance of the Convention's 49th anniversary, before turning to examples on natural heritage from the Asia-Pacific. He provided an overview of the concept of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), site reporting and monitoring mechanisms and the factors affecting the sites. The opening remarks by Dr. Dhananjai Mohan, Director, WII included the practical experiences of managing a WHS, whereas the activities of the centre was presented by Dr. Gautam Talukdar, Faculty In-Charge, WII-C2C. Approximately 50 persons attended and included a cross-section of countries of the Asia-Pacific and beyond including China, Thailand, Bangladesh, South Korea, Bhutan and the UK.