Green Skill Development Program

Green Skill Development Program

Background

• Skill development is one of the key priorities of the Government of India with the objective to develop skill sets with employability linkage. With a high proportion of working people in the total population, India has the advantage of reaping the demographic dividend. Though skill development has been accorded priority at the national level, the shortage of skilled manpower in the areas of environment, forest, climate change and other related sectors, has not been addressed adequately.
• India is a signatory to several international conventions on biodiversity and climate change and the goals set therein. However, governments alone cannot achieve them. While environment protection and conservation is an important task of the government, the Indian Constitution also clearly imposes duty on every citizen to protect environment. Peoples’ involvement is therefore, essential. Consequently, the prerequisite is to empower people with skills on environment protection and conservation.
• Realizing the need for developing the green skills in these areas, the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC) launched, on a pilot basis, the Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) under the ongoing Environmental Information System (ENVIS) Scheme to skill youth in environment, forest and wildlife sectors and enabling them to be gainfully employed or self-employed, in June, 2017. It was conducted at 10 locations, spread over 9 bio-geographic regions of the country. The pilot programme offered a Basic Course and an Advanced Course of 3 months’ duration each, to skill the youth as Biodiversity Conservationists and Para-taxonomists, respectively. The Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), at the headquarters and their regional offices, were the nodal centres for the pilot programme.
• With the success of the pilot run, the Programme was then expanded to an all India level. Hon’ble Minister, EF&CC launched the full-fledged programme as well as the Mobile app on GSDP on May 14, 2018. The app (gsdp-envis) contains all basic information about the training programmes being conducted under GSDP.

Current Status:-  Currently 44 GSDP Courses are being offered at 87 locations across the country. With duration ranging from 80 hours to 550 hours, they cover diverse fields. These include, Pollution Monitoring (air/water/soil); Emission Inventory; Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)/Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP)/Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETP) operation & maintenance; Waste Management; Environmental Impact Assessment; Forest Fire Management; Water Budgeting & Auditing; Conservation Of River Dolphins; Wildlife Management; Para Taxonomy Including Peoples Bio-Diversity Register (PBR); Mangroves Conservation; Bamboo Management & Livelihood Generation; Valuation Of Ecosystem Services; Water Budgeting & Auditing, etc. The brochure on GSDP is appended.

•  All skilling programmes are being aligned with the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF), requirement of the National Skill Development Agency (NSDA), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
•  The training programmes are being conducted by 87 identified institutions which include ENVIS Hubs (hosted by the Environment/ Forest Department of State Governments/ UT Administrations), ENVIS Resource Partners (RPs) (hosted by environment-related governmental and non-governmental organisations/ institutes of professional excellence), Autonomous Bodies/ Institutes under the Ministry. In addition, partnerships with other institutions/ entities have also been built to facilitate the training programme in their respective core areas. The details of the ongoing skilling courses and courses which have already commenced are appended at Annexure-I and Annexure-II respectively.
• Success Stories: – Some of the success stories are illustrated in Annexure III.There is a demand for ‘green skilled workforce’ in conservation and protection of environment sector. The identified employers of the Green skilled workforce include Institutions under MoEF&CC/ Biodiversity Management Committees; Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)/ State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Local bodies/industries/firms/effluent treatment plants/ wildlife & bird sanctuaries/ zoos/national parks/ wetland sites/ Eco Tourism/ Wildlife Tourism etc. Further, these fields also offer immense scope for self-employment.
• For the first time, a National Environment Survey – a Grid-based Resource Information and Decision Support System (NES-GRIDSS), is also being undertaken by MoEF&CC through the ENVIS network. A brochure on the NES-GRIDSS is appended. The candidates successfully completing the GSDP would also be engaged in environment survey for collection of information on various environmental parameters.
• At the first stage, a pool of Master Trainers is being created who can further train the youth across the country. Based on the existing gaps of skill sets in the environment/forest sectors at the district/local/village level, the pool of Master Trainers would train the youth at the district level so that the ground level challenges in these sectors can be tackled.

Way Forward :- Based on the feedback received from stakeholders, it is planned to convert few courses into one year Post Graduate Diploma Courses, structure courses for working professionals, including medical doctors and nurses.

Feedback: –A 360 degree feedback is being taken from trainers/experts, students and Centres conducting the course regarding the course content, structure and timeline of the programme. Changes suggested are also being assessed by the Ministry for strengthening and improving the programme.

Certificate Courses under GSDP approved by NCVET

(Eligibility, Duration and NSQF Level)

Annexure III

Success Stories of select GSDP Courses

1. Value Addition and Marketing of NTFPs (Plant Origin) – Certificate Course in “Lantana Furniture and Crafts” by Amrita University, Coimbatore:

Globally, there is a profusion of invasive species that affects ecological processes and cause loss of biodiversity from native ecosystem. This includes numerous of impacts such as alteration in ecosystem processes, decline in abundance and richness of native flora, alteration in community structure and many more. Therefore global efforts are being made to control invasive species as these are considered to pose significant threats that are difficult to reverse. Among them one of the important method is mechanical control by cutting or uprooting the Lantana and making furniture using theses weeds as an alternate to bamboo, currently it’s becoming a resource to fuel the livelihood of tribal communities. Tribal community is being trained to acquire the skills of furniture making using Lantana which will help in forest conservation as well as help in generating livelihood options for tribal community.

Community Mobilisation:

 For this project, Siruvani forest area was selected, which comprised of 6 tribal hamlets, namely Kalkotthi, Sadivayal, Singampathi, Vellapathi, Bottapathi, Poratthi, Jageer Poratthi. We discussed with the tribes in all the villages and explained about the project. Singampathi tribes showed interest to attend this training to acquire the necessary skills to design and develop Lantana products. It was also noticed that Lantana is widespread around this hamlet and they have easy access to Lantana bushes. It was explained to tribes that they are going to contribute to forest conservation at the same time their economic conditions would be enhanced by exploring new business opportunities. They were also told that very low investment is required to sustain the production as raw material is available at free of cost.

Tribal Community under GSDP programme with lantana stems and the finished products.

1. Value Addition and Marketing of NTFPs (Animal Origin) – Certificate Course in “Wild Bee Keeping and Processing” by State ENVIS Hub at Assam Science Technology & Environment Council (ASTEC) Assam:

Nikashi of Baksa District, Assam is primarily a ST (Schedule Tribe) dominated area and under the Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam. During the training, the trainees were trained the entire process of rearing of honey bees, management, manual processing to storage, packaging of honey in addition with marketing of the product. The packaged honey produced during the training was provisionally given a brand name “Hill Flory” by GSDP participants.

Market linkage done for the product:

• Baksa Beekeepers & Agro Producer Company (BAPC), Bishnupur, Baksa, Assam (FPC-Farmer’s Producer Company)
• North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited. (NERAMAC)
• Exhibitions & Fairs, Local market and Direct marketing

  Honey Bee produced and packed under GSDP training programme.

1. Certificate course on “Preparation of People’s Biodiversity Register (PBR)” by Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh:

The course on “Preparation of Peoples Biodiversity Registers (PBRs)” was carried out from 11th – 30th June 2018 at EPTRI. A total of 20 participants have undergone the training program for 3 weeks. The students were imparted theory and practical knowledge by taking them to Biodiversity Park, Arboretum at Telangana State Forest Academy, Dullapally & Zoo Park.  Apart from this were also taken to Jangamreddipalli, Amrabad, Nagarkurnool district as a part of field survey for the preparation of PBR.  Most of them are placed in various BMCs and other line departments for preparation of PBRs.

Field Visit to understand the traditional knowledge and Preparation of PBR -Conducting Participatory Rural Appraisal and collecting data.

1. Certificate Course in “Nature Conservation & Livelihood: River based – Ganga Prahari” by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun:

ENVIS Resource Partner ‘Wildlife and Protected Areas’ at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun organized a Certificate Course on Nature Conservation and Livelihood under the Green Skill Development Programme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change for Ganga Praharis: Guardians of the River Ganga from 23 July to 12 August, 2018 in Sarnath, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh. Integrating concepts of sustainable livelihood with conservation, these courses acted as a motivation for the people to participate in conservation and cleanliness of the river. A remarkable achievement of this course was that out of 77 participants, 50 were women which was approximately 65%. It was a result of trust building activities and several meetings and discussions in the villages located on the banks of the river. Some of these women had stepped out of their homes for the first without any male member of the household accompanying them. The Course in Sarnath provided a platform to participants to gain Green Skills which would help them undertake new initiatives and even set up their own start-ups with minimal dependency on the market. Two nurseries along with compost pits were established so that the ones trained in nursery development can be self-sufficient. To successfully run these courses and to ensure their efficacy, linkages were established with the Himalayan Environmental Studies and Conservation Organization (HESCO), Dehradun, the National Rural Livelihood Mission, and Tourist Guide Association, Varanasi who promised their support and assistance in order to help these participants establish themselves.  Over a course of 3 weeks a significant shift was observed in the confidence and attitude of the participants.

Flower extracting for Incense (Agarbatti) making by GSDP trainees

5. Certificate Course in “Nature Interpretation for Rural Youth” by Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun:

The Certificate Course in Nature Interpretation for Rural Youth was conducted in Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam from 8 July to 28 July, 2018 and aimed at making the trained person an efficient nature guide with knowledge of biodiversity, conservation and good communication skills so that he can be an independent nature guide/ naturalist, collect baseline data from the field and be a part of the Hospitality Industry, Forest Department, Wildlife Research NGOs and EIA teams.

The team from the ENVIS Resource Partner ‘Wildlife and Protected Areas’ at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun successfully completed the training programme for 26 participants in Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam. The participants were highly motivated and enthusiastic but lacked skill required to become professional nature guides. The three-week course was designed for youth from the fringe villages of the Tiger Reserve. Apart from providing livelihood opportunities and help them to enhance their socio-economic status, this course also sensitized the participants to understand the importance of biodiversity conservation and develop a communion with nature which may inspire them to conserve it. More than 10 resource persons from diverse fields including Scientists, Doctors, Professors, Tourist Operators and Protected Area Managers provided inputs in this course.

The participants were trained in modules of Biodiversity; which included Birds, Vegetation, Mammals, Amphibians, Reptiles, Insects, basics of Environment and Pollution, Laws and Policies a nature guide needs to be aware of, Nature Interpretation, Visitor needs and Communication Skills, English Vocabulary, Census techniques amongst others. They were introduced to the idea of integrating other tourism types based on Food, Culture, Tea estates etc with wildlife tourism and how to develop Circuit tourism. The course included field visit to Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra, Guwahati, Garbhanga Reserve Forest, Assam State Zoo cum Botanical Garden and Fatemabad Tea Estate. The course received excellent feedback from the participants who said it was life changing for them as well as the State Forest Department which provided assurance that they will be engaged in activities like census and forest protection apart from being nature guides.

All the trainees are a part of Manas Nature Guide Association and the training motivated them to form the Association and register it under The Assam Co-operative Societies Act, 2007. They are prepared and excited for the park to reopen for tourists in October, 2018.

1. Certificate Course in “Emission Inventory” by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune.

 The Emission Inventory course was organized by IITM-GSDP in India and attracted participants from all parts of India. Course structure has been designed in such a way that participants remain engaged and absorbed fruitfully to become champions in all related aspects of their professional carrier.

The focus of the course was kept more towards practical hand-on training. Field experiments were conducted to enable participants to tackle the data collection and implementation professionally and effectively which

will enhance their employability. It will also contribute in preserving or restoring the quality of the environment, while improving human well-being and social equality.

Emission Inventory course was primarily formulated for skilling youth for collection of activity data to develop the emission inventory using the Geographical Information System (GIS) based modelling. This kind of skill development is envisaged to implement air quality management systems across the India. The other course, Pollution Monitoring is to train the youth in the field of water and air pollution. Knowledge of monitoring techniques and practical skill which is wide requirement of industrial sector, research sector, governmental and nongovernmental agencies. These sectors are the potential employer of these skill participants after they get out of successful completion of these course.

Certificate Course in “Waste Management (Solid Waste, Biomedical Waste, Plastic Waste, E-Waste, Construction & Demolition Waste)” by Thiagarajar College of Engineering (TCE), Madurai and North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong.

The TCE ENVIS RP had conducted the GSDP course on “Waste Management” from 18/07/2018 to 01/10/2018.  To Conduct a Skill Development course on “Waste Management” is the need of the hour.  The course content was well planned and it also addressed all the Skills one need to possess to become a waste management expert. On completing the course, the students passed out were very confident in different techniques and technologies in the field of Waste Management.

To site examples:

1. One trainee from Tirunelveli told that “the course on waste management made me to think of creating a “waste Management Centre” and I am going to spread to knowledge I got from the course by creating awareness on proper disposal of Solid Waste “he added “The love I have to show to my mother earth lies in keeping her clean and green.”- Creating Entrepreneur is one major objective of the course and we have done it.
2. Two women trainees from a background of Botany & Zoology had even gone out of the box of the course and they have started working on developing a Microbiology Lab to develop Microorganism for the decomposition of Solid Waste as well as Plastic Waste. They have also requested the Host Institution to support them in this regard. The trainees commented that “The field visits to various Solid Waste Management sites, shows many waysof decomposing solid waste but the research on decomposing “Plastic Waste” still lags, so we have decided to work on developing bacteria to decompose “Plastic Waste”.

III. We had a house wife as a trainee, her store on GSDP course is totally different. “My husband is an entrepreneur, and sometimes I even worried what he is doing with the “Kuppai”  (Waste) now after completing the course,  the course has changed my mind set and I myself started working with my husband, Even I have started guiding him Waste Management techniques with the knowledge I have gained through the course. She thanked the ENVIS for conducting the course which changed her mind set on waste and also her life.

Demonstration & collection of Vermicompost & E-Waste by NEHU, Shillong

1. Certificate Course in “Parataxonomy” by Zoological Survey of India (ZSI):

This course aimed at skilling undergraduate and graduate students in basic aspects of floral and faunal diversity, Wildlife Protection and Conservation, GIS mapping and also People’s Biodiversity Register, so as to serve the State Biodiversity Boards, the State Forest Departments, Botanical and Zoological Gardens, Biology Museums and also the biodiversity related academic and research programs/ projects in research institutions and universities. The trainees were selected through walk-in interviews. The basic Foundation Course for Biodiversity Conservationists and the advanced course for Para taxonomists were of 3 months’ duration each. Within a few months of completion of the training, nearly 30% of the trainees were successfully employed. Out of the 10 GSDP trainees in ZSI Kolkata, 9 are employed now. GSDP field visit at Chintamanikar Bird Sanctuary, Kolkata

They were appointed as museum guides at the Zoological Galleries in Indian Museum Kolkata and as field assistants in a few section and also in several ongoing project of the department. More important was the visible changes in the level of their confidence and communication skills. They are efficiently bridging the gap between the scientific sector  and the common man, explaining in regional language to them with clarity, the basic scientific concepts, theories and   events, status of our biodiversity including flora and fauna and the need for protection and conservation.

Explaining the faunal diversity and its importance to visitors at Indian Museum Kolkata, Mr. Bishu Patra, GSDP trainee employed as Museum Guide at Indian Museum, Kolkata.