The programme builds on the experience of the National Green Corps Programme (NGC) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MEF), and National Environment Education Programmes in Schools (NEEPS) Project of the Centre for Environment Education. NGC has been a flagship programme of the MEF that works in a club approach by forming eco-clubs in schools. On the other hand, the NEEPS includes a whole school approach involving local non-government organizations (NGOs). A Paryavaran Mitra school is one that provides support, time and space for students and teachers to be actively engaged in learning by doing. In other words, it is a school that promotes exploration, discovery, thinking and action. The programme envisages engagement of the Paryavaran Mitra in five thematic areas: biodiversity conservation, water and sanitation, energy, waste management, and culture and heritage related to environment. It may be the largest school programme anywhere in the world undertaken for sustainability action since it reaches out to 2 lakh (200,000) schools in India. The programme is being jointly implemented by the Centre for Environment Education, ArcelorMittal, and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India, in partnership with RCE Guwahati (in North East India) and various State Government Agencies. The Target and Reach The nationwide programme reaches out to 20 million students in 2 lakh (200,000) schools. In the state of Assam, the programme reaches out to 800,000 students in approximately 8,000 schools in 27 districts. The activities of the programme primarily targets students from 11 to 15 years old. The project, beyond schools, is now addressing the local NGOs, parents and local communities in some districts. Thematic focus The programmes in Assam mostly focuses on biodiversity conservation (55 per cent), followed by waste management (15 per cent), water (14 per cent), energy (10 per cent), and culture and heritage (6 per cent). Assam is specifically focusing on biodiversity conservation, particularly 90 THE ASIA REGIONAL FORUM ON BIODIVERSITY Figure 2. Thematic focus of the programme in Assam. the conservation of tigers, river dolphins, hoolock gibbons and agro-biodiversity. Partnerships The major inputs to the programme include partnerships with ArcelorMittal, National Green Corps (NGC) Eco-club network, Saturday-Club network of Sarba Siksha Abhiyan Mission (SSA), RCE Guwahati, and grassroot level NGOs. At the national level, ArcelorMittal has brought in resources for the development of the resource materials and the day-to-day programme implementation, except training cost. Partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Forests has enabled the programme to use the National Green Corp network nationwide as a vehicle to reach out to target stakeholders. There are 5,200 schools in Assam under the NGC network and each school has a trained teacher for facilitation of the eco-club activities. In these schools, the Paryavaran Mitra programme reaches out through the NGC State Nodal Agency, Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC), which in turn works with the District Implementation and Monitoring Committees. Eco-club members take the initiative to engage larger schools through both campus and off-campus activities. The cost of training of the NGC teachers is shared by the State Nodal Agencies through the NGC programme. Implementation of the programme is jointly monitored by ASTEC and CEE teams. There are around 2,500 Saturday Clubs in Assam under SSA. The Community Mobilization component of the Sarba Siksha Abhiyan Mission forms the Saturday Clubs and arranges the training of the teacher in-charge. CEE provides
In Celebration of His Majesty the King of Thailand’s 84th Birthday Anniversary
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