Uttarakhand is planning to train 100,000 ecopreneurs in the next three years to create green jobs that help to address the large-scale out-migration that is occurring due to the limited employment opportunities in the inaccessible, hilly landscape.
Context
Uttarakhand is planning to train 100,000 ecopreneurs in the next three years to create green jobs that help to address the large-scale out-migration that is occurring due to the limited employment opportunities in the inaccessible, hilly landscape.
What is an ‘ecopreneur’?
- They are building businesses while being ecological.
- It is one of a new class of entrepreneurs whose businesses conserve natural resources through low-carbon, nature-based livelihoods.
- Currently, such jobs are relatively rare in Uttarakhand.
- The term is the mix of “eco” from ecological = green and entrepreneur = someone building a business.
- They do not just look at profit, but also on the planet and people.
- This means putting people and the planet first instead of having money in mind.
Uttarakhand’s Biodiversity
- Uttarakhand has 34,650 square kilometers of forest, accounting for 64.8 percent of the state’s total area.
- The state have:
- six national parks
- seven wildlife sanctuaries
- four conservation reserves
- The state has the second-largest number of tigers in the country.
- Other highly endangered species like snow leopard, musk deer, elephant and king cobra are also present.
- There are 102 mammal species, 710 birds, 124 fishes, 69 reptiles and 19 amphibians.
- This biodiversity and the region’s forests, mountain peaks, rivers and meadows present opportunities for local youth.
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