Balipara Foundation- Pioneering Rural Futures in the Eastern Himalayas

Pioneering Rural Futures in the Eastern Himalayas September 2018

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From Snowline to Sealine

Current Focus: Rural Futures across Eastern Himalayas to create prototypes for extending impacts to the rest of the 2 Himalayan Region

MILESTONES OF BALIPARA FOUNDATION

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Who We Are •

Balipara Foundation, growing since 2007

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Field offices: Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark (Balipara, Assam), Elephant Country (Udalguri, Assam)

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Knowledge Centres: Guwahati & Mumbai

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Community based conservation efforts using the proprietary concept of NaturenomicsTM & Rural Futures

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4 Verticals of Rural Futures: Elephant Country, Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark, Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM Forum, Knowledge & Publications

Where We Are •

Eastern Himalayas: Eastern Nepal, North Bengal, Bhutan, North East Indian states, Bangladesh

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3 of 34 global biodiversity hotspots,

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Social Challenges: Rapid Human Development

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Economic Challenges: Rising Income disparity & decreasing livelihoods opportunities

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Environmental Challenges: Degradation of soil & arsenic contamination of water sources, declining biodiversity, reducing green cover

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OUR INITIATIVES ELEPHANT COUNTRY

ELEPHANT COUNTRY …

EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK

EASTERN HIMALAYAN ARKquam magna nec quis, lorem nunc.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, nibhBOTANIC est. A magna maecenas, Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.

EASTERN HIMALAYAN NATURENOMICS FORUM

TM FORUM EASTERN NATURENOMICS Lorem HIMALAYAN ipsum dolor sit amet, nibh est. A magna maecenas, quam magna nec quis, lorem nunc.

Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.

KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE & Lorem ipsum sit amet, nibh est. A magna maecenas, quam magna nec quis, lorem nunc.

KNOWLEDGE &dolor PUBLICATIONS PUBLICATIONS Suspendisse viverra sodales mauris, cras pharetra proin egestas arcu erat dolor, at amet.

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Learning Through Experimentation

Solar Lighting

Gladiolus

Bee Keeping

Biogas

Solar Water Heater

Vermicomposting

Fishery

Poultry

Ghost Peppers

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UDALGURI LANDSCAPE MISSION • • • • •

Community based Habitat Restoration Project Afforestation of 500 ha. Impacting 12 villages Planting 1 million trees over years Aiming to create 25,000+ man-days of work for local communities Direct income generation of INR 7.6 million

ASIAN ELEPHANT SECRETARIAT •

ELEPHANT COUNTRY

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Digital platform for collaborative Asian Elephant Conservation Prototype live at www.elephantcountry.org Features include: Encyclopedia, Interaction platform, live helpline number

ELEPHANT COUNTRY PRODUCTS • •

Creating incentives for communities living alongside Asian Elephants Raising awareness about Asian Elephant ecosystems including communities, habitats, etc.

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100,000+ PLANTS 300+ SPECIES

EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK

72+ BUTTERFLY SPECIES

75+ BIRD SPECIES

14+ SNAKE SPECIES

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10 THEMATIC SECTIONS Orchidarium Herbarium Bambusetum Fern House Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Socio-economic Plants Aquatic Plants Eastern Himalayan Ecosystem replica Economic Botany Organic Garden 8

WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITIES • • •

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Social Enterprise run by members of the local communities Created 200,000+ ‘man-days’ of work Creating multiplier effects in terms of complementary services & livelihood opportunities in neighbouring communities Promoting the culture, biodiversity, cuisine and lifestyle of the Eastern Himalayas Centre for propagation of threatened, endemic and economically important plant species Community-based model to promote skilling, training & local livelihoods Offering workshops and services for smart afforestation techniques Offers a unique indoor-outdoor learning models which prioritizes experience over pedagogy Creating co-learning to highlight local experts Combines traditional knowledge and modern learning Offers 1 day, 1 week and 8 week courses 9

EDUCATION

Over 1000 students & community members have attended workshops since inception of

Creating a unique learning experience combining nature, traditional knowledge & new learning techniques to inspire a new generation of eco-crusaders

Eastern Himalayan NaturenomicsTM School

Some Workshops held: Nursery Techniques

Coconut Shell Craft

Snake Awareness

Bamboo Utilization

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SOCIAL RESTORATION PROJECT

145 years of Cultural Inheritance & 1000 years of Environmental Heritage of the Eastern Himalayas • Over 11,000 guests from over 40 countries

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Trained and Employed over 300 people from local communities

• Nurtured and tended to by local guardians – the communities of Eastern Himalayas

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Restoration of the 145 Year Old Heritage Bungalow

• • All revenue ploughed back to the local communities

Awardee of TripAdvisor 2018 Certificate of Excellence 11

ETHNIC ECO- TOURISM THROUGH HOMESTAYS Organic & local living through village homestay with Mishing, Garo, Nyishi and other ethnic communities for meaningful tourism in the Eastern Himalayas

Garo Village

Mishing Village

Nyishi Village 12

A PLATFORM FOR MULTI-DISCIPLINARY COLLABORATION •

2800+ participants since 2014

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20+ countries and 22 Indian States represented

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Participants included • Economists, Scientists, Botanists • Conservationists, Wildlife Enthusiasts, Ecologists • Government and Forest Department officials • Entrepreneurs, Business Leaders, • Lawyers, Educators, Journalists, Students • Architects

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70+ grassroots innovators awarded

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Rs. 1cr+ invested in impact creation

EASTERN HIMALAYAN NATURENOMICSTM FORUM

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OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT 70 Case Studies of Eco Champions across 10 categories highlighted since 2013 INR 4.3+ million risk capital invested in projects led by these Eco champions

Others

2013 - 2017

3.2+ million awarded to grassroots champions

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INITIATIVES WITH PARTNERS (Some examples)

Facilitated the process of organic transformation in Hathikuli

Restoration of Misa Polo Club

Solar Light Distribution in association with MASK

Giveaways of uniform to Kaziranga National Park Forest Guards in association with WCT

Assessing the current status of Mushroom cultivation in NE India with Kunming Institute of Botany

Biodiversity Asssesment Audit with Dept. of Bio Technology, Govt.of India & ATREE 15

COMMUNICATION FOOTPRINT

More than 100 Articles in leading publications – Covered by leading in English, Assamese, Japanese, French Coverage in 5 languages - English, Hindi, Assamese, Japanese & French 4 Prime Time Television Interviews

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KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS

NATURENOMICS PUBLICATIONS – 6 Volumes

THE HIMALAYAN- 1 No.

PROGRESS & IMPACT REPORT - 5 Volumes

PARTNERED PUBLICATIONS- 2 Nos.

NEWSLETTERS- 4 Volumes

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KNOWLEDGE & PUBLICATIONS NATURENOMICS PUBLICATIONS – 6 Volumes

PARTNERED PUBLICATIONS- 2 Nos.

NaturenomicsTM 1.0: Naturenomics

Hidden Treasures by Naresh Swami

NaturenomicsTM 2.0: Developing the Naturenomics Model

The Medicinal Plants by Jatindra Sharma, IFSS

NaturenomicsTM 3.0: Ecological Competitiveness for Economic Sustainability NaturenomicsTM 4.0: Optimizing Biodiversity and Social Security in Indian Mining Areas NaturenomicsTM 5.0: Reflections on Managing Water NaturenomicsTM 6.0: Eco- Champions of Eastern Himalayas OTHERS Handbook on Biodiversity of Eastern Himalayan Botanic Ark Ethnobotany 18

VOLUNTEERING PROGRAMS Eduardo Ausocua from Spain usesd his creativity to build an Earth friendly wall from glass & mud

Wharton Social Impact Consultants

Livelihood, Sustainability and Conservation Volunteering Program for 4 Interns from Ashoka University

Habitat Management Program for Hari Badale

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OTHER EXPERIMENTS & TRANSFORMATION Eco Housing in Assam Elevating the tea workers quality of life by developing smart eco housing project

Acquaponics To set an example of a farming method which can be adopted by farmers without large farm lands

Solar Water Purifier Low-cost solar water purifier for rural households

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RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS Indo-China Partnership on Climate Change Secretariat

A Member of REDD+ Working Group

A Member of Mountain Partnership

Wild Mahseer

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BALIPARA FOUNDATION STRUCURE

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PARTNERSHIPS PARTNERSHIPS

CURRENT

PROPOSED

Knowledge Partnerships

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Local Partnerships

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Investment Partnerships

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CURRENT PARTNERS Knowledge: Rain Forest Research Institute, Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, Annapurna Seed Library, Japan Environmental Education Forum, Kunming Institute of Botany, Indraprastha College for Women, Kokugakuin University, Sanctuary Asia, ATREE, Tezpur University, Missouri Botanical Garden, Current Conservation, Devex Asia Correspondent Local: MASK, Pakke Paga Festival Committee, Khasi Hills Community, Green Guard Organisation Investment: Tata Trusts, Axis Bank Foundation

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PARTNERS IN OUR 10 YEARS JOURNEY

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BALIPARA FOUNDATION ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Anil Kumar, Axis Bank Foundation

Dr. Kamal Bawa, ATREE

Dr. Anish Andheria, Wildlife Conservation Trust

Manoj Badale, Blenhelm Chalcot

Anindita Phukan, Altum Law

Nicholas Claxton, WOW Media Communications Group

Dr. Aparna Watve, Tata Institute of Social Sciences Dr. Peter H. Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden Belinda Wright, Wildlife Protection Society of India Rajeev Goyal, KTK- Belt Bittu Sahgal, Sanctuary Asia

Richard Leitch, River Journeys & Bungalows of India Dasho Paljor Dorji, The Royal Government of Bhutan Rolf Von Bueren, Lotus Arts De Vivre Deitrich Schmidt- Vogt, University of Freiburg Samir Menon, Tata Consultancy Services Diana Owen, Royal Overseas League

Sentila Yanger, Tribal Weaves Dr. Dibakar Goswami, Nuclear Waste Program Sunayana Sarkar, NMIMS University Dr. Indira Khurana, Water Expert Prof. Jianchu Xu, Kunming Institute of Botany

Shankar Venkateswaran, Ex- Tata Sustainability Group

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OUR STORIES Eastern Himalayas: Balipara Foundation Journey https://bit.ly/2iCdoKq Rural Futures: Udalguri Landscape Mission https://bit.ly/2x6lLFD Seeds: Eastern Himaalayan Botanic Ark https://bit.ly/2N6HlnC

EASTERN HIMALAYAN BOTANIC ARK IN RESIDENCE AT WILD MAHSEER https://bit.ly/2x6WOJE

https://bit.ly/2OeGDkV

https://bit.ly/2N9OvHA

https://twitter.com/naturenomics https://bit.ly/2NzApyO

https://bit.ly/2x8HpZ1

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