Bhubaneswar: The WWF EIACP Programme Centre, with support from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), launched a two-month Green Skill Development Programme (GSDP) residential certificate course on ‘Nature Conservator cum Ecotourism Guide’ at the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management (IITTM) here Wednesday.
Amlan Nayak, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of the Chilika Wildlife Division and Chief Executive (Additional Charge) of the Chilika Development Authority, inaugurated the programme as the chief guest.
The launch event was also attended by IITTM Bhubaneswar Nodal Officer and Head Md. Sabir Hussain, Chairperson (Training) Adyasha Das, along with faculty members and course participants.
Organised under the MoEF&CC’s flagship GSDP, the initiative aims to empower youth with green skills for sustainable livelihoods in the environment and forestry sectors.
The GSDP focuses on developing a technically trained and environmentally conscious workforce capable of contributing to conservation, sustainable resource management, and eco-friendly enterprises.
Spanning 420 hours, the certificate course brings together youth from eight states—Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Bihar, West Bengal, Sikkim, Odisha, and Tamil Nadu—equipping them with practical skills in ecotourism, nature guiding, and wildlife conservation.
The programme is being implemented under the guidance of Dr G Areendran, Director of Tech for Conservation at WWF-India and Coordinator of WWF EIACP.