YETI concludes with concern for preservation of biodiversity in forests

Staff Reporter
LUMAMI, DECEMBER 19

THE fifth edition of Young Ecologists Talk and Interact (YETI), held for the first time Nagaland, drew to a close here Thursday evening at the Nagaland University in Lumami. On the final day, the organizers recorded 285 participants. The three day-long conference was best described by one the research scholar from Bangalore who called it 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/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.
Students attending the conference from other states were surprised, and at the same time impressed with the vast stretch of forest area in Nagaland. But they also 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 (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.
Despite the organizers being short-handed by the departure of most students for winter holidays, the participants from outside Nagaland also expressed their delight over the “highly hospitable people” who had “spend sleepless nights” to ensure a “fabulous stay for all.”
One of the drawbacks though, was the internet connectivity. As rightly pointed out by one of the students, “We can always have YETI conference in remote places but we should have proper internet access. It is one of the pre-requisites.”
Scholars from Nagaland also invited fellow researchers from other states to “to work in our landscape.” “Have no fear or apprehensions about our place and it is our pleasure to welcome you to work with us,” they were told.
Dr Neizo Puro, Assistant Professor, Department of Botany in Nagaland University, Lumami, said, “We are quite happy to see so many young students coming here. Their enthusiasm is tremendous and we feel their energy.
“And one thing I particularly like about this conference is that it has no pretensions. Completely honest, no glitter but, so to say, simple and plain but to the point,” he remarked. Dr Puzo was confident that the event would be “quite encouraging” for the students pursuing biology in the University.
Proposals have been thrown from Tezpur, Delhi and Pune to host the next YETI conference. As is the tradition, the final host city would be decided through the voting system.