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Thumbimahotsavam 2020:

Topics Covered: Conservation and biodiversity related issues.

Thumbimahotsavam 2020:

What is it?

It is the first-ever State Dragonfly Festival in Kerala.

  • World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF–India) State unit has joined hands with the Society for Odonate Studies (SOS) and Thumbipuranam for the festival.

Official mascot of the festival:

Pantalu.

pantalu

National dragonfly festival:

  • This is part of a national dragonfly festival being organised by the WWF India, Bombay Natural History Society & Indian Dragonfly Society in association with the National Biodiversity Board, United Nations Environment Programme, United Nations Development Programme and IUCN – Centre for Environment Conservation.

The Dragonfly Festival started in 2018 to educate and inform the public about the integral role that dragonflies, and their lesser known siblings damselflies, play in our environment.

About the World Wide Fund for Nature:

It is an international non-governmental organization.

Founded in 1961

Headquarter — Gland (Switzerland).

Aim: wilderness preservation & the reduction of human impact on the environment.

Reports & programmes:

  1. Living Planet Report— published every two years by WWF since 1998; it is based on a Living Planet Index and ecological footprint calculation.
  2. Earth hour – a worldwide movement organized by WWF annually, encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on a specific day towards the end of March, as a symbol of commitment to the planet.
  3. Debt-for-nature swaps–financial transactions in which a portion of a developing nation’s foreign debt is forgiven in exchange for local investments in environmental conservation measures.
  4. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) — independent non-profit organization which sets a standard for sustainable fishing.
  5. Healthy GrownPotato — eco-brand that provides high-quality, sustainably grown, packaged, and shipped potatoes to consumers by leveraging integrated pest management (IPM) farming practices on large scale farms.

Sources: the Hindu.