Marine National Park to host national workshop on turtles

RAJKOT: The two-day fifth annual Turtle Action Group Workshop will be hosted by Marine National Park (MNP) from January 12 in Jamnagar.

Chief conservator of forests, Marine National Park, R D Kamboj said around 75 participants from different states of India are going to participate in this workshop. He said there would be researchers, forest department officials, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government organizations.

"The workshop will focus on capacity building and technical training sessions by eminent resource persons like Dr Pranav Trivedi from Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore, and Rita Banerji and Maya Khosla (independent wildlife film-makers) in the field of sea turtle conservation. There will be general talk by Dr Kartik Shanker from Centre for Ecological Studies, Indian Institute of Sciences, and Dr Wesley Sunderraj from Green Future Foundation, Kachchh,'' Kamboj said.

The Turtle Action Group is a network of NGOs and other community-based organizations which are dedicated to the cause of sea turtle conservation and coastal protection in India.

"The aim of the network is to provide a platform for the exchange of information, knowledge and experiences amongst various groups and individuals working along the coast. In addition, the initiative seeks to strengthen community-based NGOs in various coastal states," he added.