JOIN USInternational conference on seabirds to be held in Mumbai
Delegates from several countries, government agencies and experts would gather in Mumbai from June 7-9 to deliberate on increasing the understanding of seabirds, their important marine areas, and movement patterns.
The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Birdlife International will hold a three-day workshop on North Indian Ocean Seabirds at the Hornbill House in Mumbai.
It aims to bring together the available data to document major movement patterns to complement the existing marine Important Bird and Biodiversity (IBA) network and discuss current future threats and research needs. This workshop is intended to be useful for policy and decision-making relating to seabirds and marine conservation by highlighting important areas and connectivity and identifying major threats to guide future management and research needs.
Kishor Rithe, Interim Director of BNHS, stated that the workshop outputs are intended to be useful for current policy discussions related to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, particularly concerning Target 3, which includes the aim of effective conservation and management of at least 30 per cent of the world’s oceans, and prioritises areas of particular importance for biodiversity, within a system of well-connected areas.
The workshop will also help the Indian Government in showcasing India's efforts in bird conservation in the upcoming 14th CMS COP.
Several senior officers from the Government of India and State Governments and researchers from different countries are expected to participate in the workshop to discuss the important seabird areas and their migration.
Key experts, researchers, and birdwatchers from India, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Réunion, are expected to participate in the workshop. In addition to these, chief wildlife wardens of some coastal states, officials from the Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Indian Coast Guard, and Mangrove Cell, Maharashtra have been invited to participate in the workshop.
Experts from the Fishery Survey of India, Nature Conservation Foundation, Zoological Survey of India, Wildlife Conservation Society, Wetlands International, Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Indian Institute of Science, Pondicherry University, Kerala Agricultural University, and Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History are also expected to join the workshop.
Dr P Sathiyaselvem, senior scientist and Deputy Director of BNHS, stated that the expected outputs from this workshop include overview maps of seabird movement within national waters, identification of major threats to seabirds within national waters, and identification of research gaps to inform conservation action.
He said that several organisations like International Climate Initiative (IKI), the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety, and Consumer Protection (BMUV) are supporting this event.