Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Bio-Bridge Initiative
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Working with the Bio-Bridge Initiative at the United Nation’s Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, I wrote several articles to increase awareness around projects that involved international cooperation with the common goal to protect biodiversity. The following is an article that details a cooperative project to protect big cats in Asia:
Protecting Asian Big Cats
Poaching, hunting, and habitat destruction have threatened big cats in Asia. Since the 20th century, big cats such as tigers, lions, leopards, and snow leopards have suffered significant declines in their populations. Currently, Asiatic lions, Bengal tigers, and snow leopards are all listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List, and leopards are categorized as vulnerable with a declining population trend. India is currently home to the last surviving population of the Asiatic lion in the wild, and accounts for 60 percent of the global wild tiger population.
As one of the last remaining countries home to wild species of Asian big cats, India is in serious need to accelerate their conservation efforts. In order to effectively do so, the country is working in collaboration with the Republic of Korea, with support from the Bio-Bridge Initiative, to develop technologies and standardized methods that are vital to the conservation and rehabilitation of big cats throughout Asia. This on-going project is currently addressing challenges to the conservation of Asian big cats through technology sharing and the use of unified DNA typing methodology.
The main objectives of the project include the training of scientific staff at regional wildlife institutions in India on different aspects of conservation genetics, the establishment of the regional wildlife genetic facilities in India through technical and scientific cooperation, and the cultivation of scientific cooperation and synergism among different stakeholders in India to establish standardized STR typing methodologies for Asian big cats.
As part of the project, the Seoul National University College of Veterinary Medicine (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and Amity Institute of Forestry and Wildlife (Noida, India) recently hosted a workshop on Asian big cats’ conservation genetics at the Amity University Uttar Pradesh (AUUP) campus in Noida, India. From March 21st to 23rd, forty participants attended the training workshop on the use of DNA based tools for the conservation of Asian big cats. The training sessions focused on understanding the need for the use of molecular tools in wildlife management and conservation for Asian big cat species like tigers, leopards, lion, snow leopards, and clouded leopards.
This ongoing project will widely disseminate essential technologies to mobilize front line conservation practitioners to accelerate their conservation efforts throughout the region, and the project will also serve as a model for a uniform approach to population monitoring of Asian big cats for other countries that also hope to expand their efforts to protect and rehabilitate their big cat populations. Through international cooperation and the sharing of technologies like DNA typing and micro-satellite markers, we can hope to secure a bright future for tigers, lions, leopards, and snow leopards.
In addition to a series of articles, I also produced an array of graphic design content for the Bio-Bridge Initiative to increase awareness among key internal and external stakeholders:
Side Event Flyer
At the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) Conference in 2019, the Bio-Bridge Initiative hosted a series of side events to present on-going developments and projects. Working for the Bio-Bridge Initiative team, I designed a series of public information materials for the events and I presented the communication strategy to key stakeholders and investors.
Operations’ Guide
As part of the communication strategy for the Bio-Bridge Initiative, I designed and produced original copy for an engaging operations’ guide while maintaining cohesive branding with other public information materials.
The guide provides written and infographic explanations detailing the mission, procedures, and projects of the initiative.
In the future, I hope to continue to use my skills in communications, writing, and graphic design to help foster increased global cooperation around conservation efforts and other inspiring projects like the Bio-Bridge Initiative.