Vadodara – the city of crocodiles
The 4-million city Vadodara and the villages around are an example how humans and crocodiles can coexist successfully.
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environmental education
Nature experiences beyond four walls
Profound experiences in nature during childhood shape the way we develop as adults. Love for nature, curiosity and the sense of wonder cannot be evoked solely by long presentations inside a classroom. And this is the realization that motivated four sisters in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to start their own, very unique nature camp, not only igniting the curiosity for nature within children, but also breaking the walls of expectations around women in Pakistan.
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Protecting the underrepresented
Although rather small in size, Nepal is home to an outstanding diversity of plants, animals and ecosystems in a remarkable physical setting. The altitude varies between 60 m ASL in the subtropical Terai Arc to Mount Everest at 8849 metres. Within this range and diverse habitats, Nepal hosts almost 12,000 different species of flora, iconic animals such as the snow leopard, clouded leopard, bengal tiger, one-horned rhino, asian elephant, red panda and the pangolin. But what about those species and areas which don’t make the spotlight? Friends of Nature Nepal, a small team of passionate conservationists has been venturing into uncharted territories, rediscovering long-unrecorded species and stands up for the protection of many underrepresented or neglected species.
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A taste of the untouched nature of the Caucasus
The four days we spent in the winter wilderness of Borjomi-Kharagauli National Park took us through rich evergreen forests, alpine meadows and snowy high mountain peaks, while giving us a few new lessons on survival.
Borjomi-Kharagauli encompasses one of Georgia’s last major intact forest wilderness, and provides refuge to many of the Caucasus´s rich wildlife, such as brown bear, wolf, chamois, lynx and red deer. It is the first national park of the country, established after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and has faced many difficulties from the early days onwards in the attempt to stop poaching and illegal logging. Nowadays, the efforts to protect this unique biodiversity are intensified, while local communities have realized the potential of sustainable ecotourism.
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The Alpine Garden of Adjara
The Alpine Botanical Garden in Adjara collects native sub- and alpine plants of the Caucasus ecoregion to preserve, research and promote them.
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The Yumurtalik lagoons between land and sea, biodiversity and humans
In the Yumurtalik Lagoons National Park, land meets sea and extraordinary biodiversity meets human threats.
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The intricate web of nature protection in Hatay
As we approached the province of Hatay, we had no idea yet how intricate and strong the nature protection community really is here. But soon enough, we found out that like the underground network of trees in a forest, the protectors of Hatay developed a unique and diverse network, consisting of academicians, conservationists, media personnel and nature enthusiasts, working as coordinated as we have not seen before.
And what are they protecting? Taking up only 0.7% of Turkey, Hatay hosts 60% of all of the country’s mammal species. Moreover, it is a major bottleneck for migratory birds and hosts some of Turkey’s most important wetlands belonging to the Asi river basin.
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One world, one water and one chance to safeguard it
The Black Sea is one of the world’s most isolated seas, and the largest anoxic body of water on the planet (87% of its volume is anoxic). It has also been called Europe’s most polluted sea. In Trabzon along the Turkish Black Sea coast, we sat down with researchers Dr. Muzaffer Feyzioğlu and Dr. Coşkun Erüz from the Karadeniz Technical University to discuss the state of marine conservation, microplastics and people’s attitudes towards marine litter.
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The Nature Conservation Centre, the hub of innovative conservation solutions
The Turkish NGO Nature Conservation Centre (Doğa Koruma Merkezi) is a great example of how NGOs can use scientific expertise, practical experience and education activities to bridge gaps between authorities and people. Their projects include a creative spin on tackling the climate crisis, nature education, sustainable agriculture and biodiversity protection.
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Spinning a CEEweb for biodiversity
CEEweb is a NGO that spins a web for biodiversity across Central and Eastern Europe. We met them in Budapest to discuss their activities and challenges. In the end, we got a special gift that will follow us for the rest of our journey.
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