A digital walk through rare, untold stories of India’s natural heritage -Governance Now

A digital walk through rare, untold stories of India’s natural heritage

On International Day of Forests, a special initiative by Nature Conservation Foundation and Google Arts & Culture

GN Bureau | March 21, 2022

#wildlife #forests #nature #Environment

Starting Monday – which is International Day of Forests, people across the world can view rare stories from different ecosystems of India’s rich natural heritage through more than 100 rare visuals and videos of wildlife and birds. These stories have been developed by the Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) and can be viewed for free, by anyone, on the Google Arts & Culture platform.

For more:
https://artsandculture.google.com/partner/nature-conservation-foundation
https://www.ncf-india.org/blog/ncf-gac

This is a first-of-its-kind partnership between Google and NCF and aims to bring out rare and unusual stories about endangered species, habitats, community-driven initiatives and scientific knowledge about indigenous flora and fauna to the larger global public.

The variety of stories range from the marvelous to the astounding: a glimpse into what wonders lie in the tree buttress of a densely packed, untouched rainforest in Valparai, Tamil Nadu; A swim through the underwater forests of coral reefs off the island of Lakshadweep; The world from the view-point of Paga, a Great Hornbill as he soars over the forests of Pakke in Arunachal Pradesh; and the life journey of the majestic Ghost tree - the ghost that does not walk.

The stories are presented in three Indian languages – Malayalam, Tamil and English.

“As conservation scientists and lovers of nature, we at NCF want the public to appreciate the diversity and wealth in our native forests and ecosystems. By launching stories of the wild on the International Day of Forests, in three Indian languages, we hope to further the cause of wildlife conservation and create awareness about our precious fauna and flora,” says Dr M Ananda Kumar, director and senior scientist, Nature Conservation Foundation.

“At NCF, we’ve always wanted to experiment with new media and mediums of digital storytelling, so our message of natural heritage may reach audiences across the globe in newer ways. The Google Arts & Culture platform enables innovative storytelling through immersive, virtual features. By showcasing our wildlife and forests on this platform, we hope to reach out to the public in a new way and create awareness about our natural heritage,” says Shweta Taneja, communications manager, NCF.

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