By Harshavardhini Angappan and Vishnu NM, Restoration Ecologists/Technical Coordinators, Biodiversity Conservation
Header photo credit: Manali Rane
The Ecological Restoration Alliance, India organised an annual conference called ‘Restoring Natural Ecologies 2024’ in Panchgani, Maharashtra from 27th to 29th November 2024. Eight team members from Keystone’s biodiversity conservation program participated in the event this year. The three-day event featured a variety of programs, aimed at increasing awareness of restoration practices, methods, and projects. At its core, the event seeks to foster collaboration and create a sense of camaraderie within the restoration community. The 2024 conference was based on three themes – Philosophy, Practice, and Growing the Practice. The conference created space for meaningful conversations, collaborations and connections for participants both from this year and last. A total of 220 participants from around India attended the conference.
This time, the conference had many new formats of presenting the work, including plenary talks, talking circles, short talks, panel discussions, film screenings, and a Network Mela. One of the talking circles focused on “Community-Led Ecological Restoration” and was led by Mr. Naveen Chhabria, Dr. Anita Varghese, and Dr. Suprabha Sheshan. Five of us participated in this discussion, where we discussed various community-led ecological restoration efforts from different landscapes in India.
Day 1: Presenting at the Network Mela
Three of us (Mr. Mounthees Kuttan, Ms. Harshavardhini Angappan, and Mr. Vishnu NM) participated in the Network Mela displaying two posters: one on invasive management in sites selected under Reversing Environment Degradation in Africa and Asia (REDAA) project, and the other on observational study of the effect of recent wildfire in Bikkapathimund. The Network Mela was a new experience to interact with the attendees and share our experiences with them and learn their perspective on invasive management.
Day 2:
On the second day, Ms. Manasi Karandikar and Ms. Ketaki Ghate from Oikos for Ecological Services, Pune, led a plenary session on the topic of Restoration+, sharing their stories about various restoration efforts they are working on. The short talks for the day were organized into three different themes: 1. Scientific Inquiry, 2. Other Terrestrial Landscapes, and 3. Forests.
Day 3:
On the third day, Mr. Pradip Krishen conducted a mind boggling biodiversity quiz. This was followed by short talks on three different themes: 1. Restoration for Climate Security, 2. Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLC), and Livelihoods and, 3. Support Structures/Tools for Restoration.
The three-day event was helpful in reaching out to new people who work on restoration in different landscapes. It was a great opportunity to broaden our knowledge on invasive plants, restoration tools, improving livelihood of IPLC, and more.
