Weltwärts Conference and Indian turtle project visit 2019

In February 2019, Nguyen Thu Thuy, the Training and Rescue Coordinator of ATP/IMC, travelled to Nagpur City, India, to attend the Asian regional conference of the Weltwärts program. Weltwarts is a development volunteer service founded in 2008 by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). With over 100 participants from partner organizations around Asia and Germany, the conference shared updates of the Weltwärts program and plan for the coming years.

The Spotted Pond Turtle (Geoclemys hamiltonii) is one of the most common illegally traded species in India. This individual was rescued by the Kukrail Gharial & Turtle Rehabilitation Centre, Lucknow, India. Photo: Arunima Singh – TSA

The ATP/IMC has worked since 2016 with the Kolping Youth International, a Germany based youth volunteer programme, to host two long term volunteers annually. The role of the volunteers is to support the rescue and rehabilitation of tortoises and freshwater turtles (TFT) at the Turtle Conservation Centre, Cuc Phuong National Park. The volunteers are provided with knowledge of TFT diversity and biology and in-depth training in animal husbandry and work closely with local staff to conserve native TFT of Vietnam.

After the conference, Thuy visited the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) India program. On her visit, she saw the staff training the rangers of Uttar Pradesh state on turtle identification and law enforcement, and visited Kukrail Gharial & Turtle Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow and Terai field research project.

Thuy enjoyed the trip and gained a lot from her experiences there: “It was very exciting to observe turtles from the river and see the TSA team’s great work in the rehabilitation centre.”

21st February 2020
Press release by: Thuy Nguyen & Jack Carney – ATP/IMC

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