Dr. K. Sivakumar (Scientist F, Department of Endangered Species Management, Wildlife Institute of India) met with the WCS-India representatives, Ms. Prakriti Srivastava, IFS (Country Director), Mr. Avik Banerjee (Project Associate), Ms. Zoya Tyabji (Project Associate), Mr. Karan Deshpande (Project Assistant) and Ms. Paromita Ray (Program Associate) at the WCS-India head office in Bangalore.
Ms. Srivastava introduced WCS-India’s proposed goals slated for the Marine Conservation Program, followed by a detailed presentation on the team’s objectives by Mr. Banerjee.
Dr. Sivakumar extended his support towards the Marine Conservation Program and provided valuable technical input on the team’s proposed activities. The discussion covered mutual concerns on the importance of collaborative efforts to effectively conserve India’s marine wildlife and ecosystems, and both parties agreed to work together towards marine conservation in India.
Dr. Sivakumar expressed his shared interest in working together on different issues related to conservation of marine biodiversity. Specifically, both parties have agreed to pool financial, technical and logistic resources to work towards training and capacity building for the Indian Forest Services, in addition to jointly conducting both: WCS-India’s proposed work at Angria Bank, and WII’s ongoing work on dugongs at Palk Bay.
The teams had productive interactions on various other issues pertaining to marine conservation in India and look forward to initiating partnerships.