IIFM
Green Credits, Carbon Credits and several other emerging result based finance instruments are rapidly gaining traction among different stakeholders yet their effective implementation requires a lot of capacity building and awareness creation.
For the last couple of years, I have been running sessions at Indian Institute of Forest Management for senior practitioners and Indian Forest Service (IFS) - officers on these topics in different MDPs and workshops. These sessions and workshops are not only a way to create awareness about these topics on these key emerging areas but also an opportunity to learn about the issues from different stakeholders’ point of view.
These workshops, sessions are also an attempt to reduce the information asymmetry and ensure that the benefits of these financial instruments are shared equitably and fairly.
#CarbonCredits #ClimateFinance #ClimateAction #Education #Career
Somewhere in Gabon
Borrowed sunglasses to cover my infected eyes..
Gabon Upcountry
After breakfast, there was nothing to do, so I just spent some time on my laptop, listening to those songs which I have stored, just for the single reason, that I got it from somewhere and my laptop had a lot of space. Sometimes you have so much time that if you believe in the old saying that time is money, you will feel like a billionaire. It was just like that. My guide here has gone to Libreville for a meeting and I was here alone, fighting with the French language and giving a very tough time to the person to whom I am talking too.
One of my seniors told me, don’t take tension that you don’t know French, make other people tense that you don’t know French. And let him understand. So basically I was doing the same thing.
Afternoon, Paul came to pick me up and in his heavily accented but fairly good English explained to me that we are going to visit the city and places around it. What more I could have asked for! Really great. Outside my hotel, there was an old Landcruiser waiting for me. I just took my laptop, camera and passport and was ready for action. First, we visited a nearby village in Makokou and it was really beautiful. Located on the banks of a river ‘La river de obenduâ’, I asked for the name but Paul’sheavy accented reply and my ears’ refusal to get accustomed to that accent, suggested me to not waste time getting the right name.
I went to the river and was surprised to see that the color of the water was black. O my god, I am seeing a black river in this Dark Continent! I asked the reason to Paul, expecting a really interesting answer. But the result was a dud. He simply told this due to the high content of iron ore. Suddenly something caught my attention, some people were there washing their cars in the river, and alongside them some girls taking bath.
Returning back to my hotel, I was lucky enough to have an encounter that I can never forget. On the way, Paul suddenly stopped the car, and I could see some people moving and making noise. I asked the reason and he told me to get the camera, photo, photo.. I was unable to understand anything that happened, why this fellow is asking me to capture pics of these people. “le serpent” “What?” “Snake” Then I looked at the crowd, on the ground there was a huge black snake moving, and two three-person equipped with small sticks were there to tackle him and 20–30 people around them. I took out my camera and from the car itself took some snaps.
I asked about the snake and the answer was it is a black cobra. One of the most deadly snakes on the planet. And those people were treating him like a harmless non-poisonous creature. Within a few seconds, two-three strikes with the small sticks and the black cobra was flat on the ground.
Though still moving rapidly, unable to go anywhere. I was mesmerized by their skill.
IIFM #africa
Vellore
Vellore, is the place, where we (me, Pushkar, Ruchi, and Jyoti) are right now, thanks to the IIFM fieldwork. Contrary to our all expectations, the journey was nice and hospitality given by the Tamilnadu Forest department is excellent, the only sad thing t, i lost my jacket (the recent gift by my mother, a cool Levi’s Red Tab) in the train (I thought such kind of incident happen only in my state or neighboring states). The language, is a major problem for us, most of the people are not at all comfortable with English and we do not know even A,B,C .. of Tamil. So giving order in the restaurant, interacting with taxi drivers, talking to forest department officials, is quite a task. But we are enjoying our stay….
Black Friday
We have got only 20 days of respite between two examinations. This is the common schedule here at IIFM, you are finishing your last question of last paper of the exam and in the examination hall itself you get a class schedule of next term. Come out from the exam and find that you have next examinatoin just 20 days away. So all the plans of post-examination reading spree and roaming around look very uncertain.
The last day of the examination was a nightmare, it was a Black Friday. The worst exam i have ever given in my life. Though i am not very studious type, but i hope to do well in most of the exams (my friends dont believe that i am not studious!!). The Communication Method paper was really fucking tough.
And then in the afternoon session of exam, i got a paper which was as easy as it can ever be, but i channelise all my resources to put my worst efforts in the paper, i did a blunder solving the question that i taught to most of my friends.
By the way, the memories of the nightmare are still haunting me, but now i am more focussed, at least for the time being.
Standing Alone
Well, so I am finished with my midterm exams and now I have time to do things which I had planned. But, the real crux is what to do first, go for a movie or finish the three novels I have left after 200 or 100 pages. Or should I just sleep in my room to compensate for all missed hours in order get B+ or A in the exams.
Finally I decided that I should finish the novels. I have always preferred the books to anything else, because they make you more imaginative and creative. When I read a book, I am free to create my own world, I can visualize the character with the features I like, and one is sensitive enough he can experience all the emotions with the characters, you relate with them you empathize with them and these are the things you cannot experience with movies, you have limitations, its the director’s vision, his way of portrayal of emotions, which you witness.
I am going to skip the movies and some friends are not going to like this. But let it be. I am comfortable standing alone or in this case sitting alone in my rooms with books.
Welcome Party
Today, we are going to have a gala party from the PFM cell. This is the official welcome party from the IIFM to the new batch, and this will be our second party within three weeks and next week our batch is going to throw a party for the seniors “The Thanksgiving Party”.
I am going to finish the book - A bend in the road - By Nicholas Sparks, and then have a look at the Statistics for Management (Levin & Rubin).
