| There
is a need to examine and revise approaches to marine conservation in
India, since current approaches are essentially exclusionary and
protectionist which alienate coastal communities from the management of
their livelihood resources. I am interested in evaluating marine
conservation paradigms and analysing policy in the context of
conservation and livelihoods. I would like to develop approaches that
are participatory and promote the sustainable use of natural resources. I work on several conservation projects, mostly in collaboration with my colleagues at Dakshin Foundation. Our
team includes social scientists, policy researchers and biologists, and
involves interdisciplinary research and conservation action. Sea
turtle conservation
I have worked with sea turtles since 1988 and
helped initiate the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network, now one of the
longest running student programmes in the world. I have been working on the coast
of Orissa for the last 10 years, trying to
find solutions to addressing the issue of turtle mortality in these waters. I
have worked with both government and local institutions to develop frameworks
and partnerships for conservation of sea turtles. My colleagues and I initiated the Orissa Marine
Resources Conservation Consortium, an alliance of fishworkers, conservationists
and local community groups to conserve olive ridley turtles and safeguard
livelihoods.
Orissa
Marine Resources Conservation Consortium (OMRCC)
The
Coastal and Marine Programme at ATREE facilitated the creation of the OMRCC.
The OMRCC is made up of fishworkers’ unions of Orissa, conservation
organisations, development NGOs, turtle biologists, and individuals interested
in sea turtle conservation measures and/or sustainable fisheries in Orissa. It
is one of the few initiatives for collaborative marine conservation action in
India
where the stakeholders mentioned above are
attempting to working together to develop and execute community-based
conservation projects and research initiatives. The activities that the OMRCC
engages in range from advocacy efforts for rational turtle conservation
measures, fisheries management, addressing issues related to the destruction of
marine biodiversity particularly from commercial and industrial activities and
so on. Presently the OMRCC is engaged in evolving a common, participatory sea
turtle conservation strategy developed by various stakeholders represented in
the Consortium. To accomplish this, the OMRCC must liaison with NGOs, the
Orissa state government, the central government, and other policy level
institutions.
Networking
for sea turtles in India
Sea turtle conservation requires long term
commitments for both monitoring and outreach. These are best provided by local
organisations that can provide continuity for such programs. It is thus
necessary to providing training to institutions and organisations along the
coast of
India
so that
long term monitoring programmes can be initiated at important sea turtle
nesting sites. With support from the Marine Turtle Conservation Act Fund, we are in
the process of setting up a nationwide network of NGOs which will provide
information on current status and threats to marine turtles, while putting in
place mechanisms that will sustain both the monitoring and education and
awareness programs initiated by this project.
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