International Wildlife Photography Workshop kicks off

KATHMANDU, Feb 28: The season three of the International Wildlife Photography Workshop has begun on Thursday. The workshop, being organized by ROAR for Conservation, will run till March 6.

The seven day workshop is being organized with an aim to spread conservation awareness and promote tourism in Bardia National Park, according to the organizers.

Participants from India and Nepal are taking part in the work shop, where renowned mentor Balan Madhavan will mentor them on nature photography while keeping in mind the morals of conservation.

“Bardia has beauty of elusive floras and faunas residing in it and we need to promote the wilderness of this tiger land in the world”, said Bishesh Gautam, executive members of ROAR for Conservation, a non-governmental organization initiated by a young group.

“Along with attracting tourists to Bardiya, we are also working towards spreading message about urgent need to conserve wildlife and their habitats through photography”, said Sima Khanal, the secretary of ROAR for Conservation.

Bardiya National Park boasts 53 mammals including one horned rhinos, wild elephants, swamp deer, gangetic dolphins and the Bengal tiger. The jungle is home to about 484 species of birds, 125 species of fish and many amphibians and reptiles.

According to Gautam, group of mentees from India are going to join the workshop which will “definitely multiply the numbers of nature loving visitors to the park in near future.”

Local guides and students are also participating in the event. The workshop which includes jungle drives, walk, camping and insight of Tharu culture is being supported by Nepal Tourism board and WWF Nepal. Laxmi Bank and Shikhar Insurance are the other two co-supporters of the event.