As part of the ongoing IKI Living Landscape project, WWF-Bhutan provided firefighting, forestry, and field equipment worth Nu 11.4 million to the Department of Forests and Park Services (DoFPS) today. The items included rain gear, torches, firefighting safety gear, wildlife rescue equipment and forest survey equipment.

A set of firefighting equipment and gears would be used as training equipment for a team of foresters who will further train forest fire management module under the Gyalsung program. The first batch of Gyalsung training commences in September this year. Firefighting equipment such as flappers and water bags will be distributed to the fire-prone areas within the project landscape.
The support is also expected to help Quick Response Teams in the project landscape who are responsible for providing first-hand responses to manage wildlife intrusion in human settlements.

The forestry and firefighting equipment are expected to enhance the technical and management effectiveness of nine Divisional Forest Offices in southwestern Bhutan, the Living Landscape project areas. It will also contribute to reducing the impact of human-wildlife conflicts on the communities living in the project landscape.