Kohima: The fifth edition of Young Ecologists Talk and Interact (YETI), held for the first time in Nagaland, drew to a close on Thursday at the Nagaland University Campus in Lumami under Zunheboto district.
According to YETI sources today on the ultimate day yesterday, the organizers recorded 285 participants in the three day-long conference. It was best described by a research scholar from Bangalore as ‘a democratic place for quality students to talk and share ideas.’
For YETI, the core word is ‘democratic.’ Every single decision, ranging from the choice of host state and city, resource people, student presentation and topics of discussion are collected ahead of the event. The final outcome is decided through a voting system in which all the student volunteers cast their ballot via the internet.
Young ecologist students attending the conference from other states were impressed with the vast stretch of forest area in Nagaland. But they threw in a caution. ‘It is good to have such vast forest areas. But the more pertinent question is, are you conserving its bio-diversity?’ said a PhD scholar from Jammu and Kashmir.
Another student of botany from Delhi University shared similar views. ‘It is no use having large forest areas if the bio-diversity is no more. Recovering the lost species is near impossible but at least we can start preserving now.’
One of the oldest participants, a biologist from Chennai, noted that this year’s edition had witnessed a large number of new faces. ‘And this is encouraging because it shows that more and more young students are coming in to YETI,’ she said.
The highlight of the day was perhaps the session on ‘Open Ecology’ by Dr Prabhakar R from India Biodiversity Portal. Other interesting sessions were on ‘The Dispersal Vicariance Pendulum and Butterfly Biogeography’ by Dr Ullasa K. and ‘Over one hundred of solitude: History of a forest fragment and its primates’ by Dr Narayana Sharma.
Proposals have been thrown from Tezpur (Assam), Delhi and Pune to host the next YETI conference. As is the tradition, the final host city would be decided through the voting system. (UNI)
