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(October 11, 2019) Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) & Chief Wildlife Warden of Kerala Forest Department, Mr. Surendra Kumar met with WCS-India team Ms Prakriti Srivastava, IFS (Country Director) along with Mr Venu Parameshwar (Finance Director), Dr Vardhan Patankar (Head, Marine Conservation Program), Mr Avik Banerjee (Project Associate), Ms Zoya Tyabji (Project Associate), Mr. Karan Deshpande (Project Assistant) and Ms Paromita Ray (Head Ecotourism), Mr Vishal Rasal (Project Associate, Ecotou...

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(October 09, 2019) Researchers from the US and the UK have revealed that at least one in five land-based species on the planet is traded on the global wildlife market.In a paper published in this month’s edition of the journal Science, academics from the University of Florida and the University of Sheffield said the scale of the wildlife trade is far larger than had previously been thought, adding that they were “astounded” by what their research revealed.After studying data on more than 30,000 l...

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(October 02, 2019) WCS – India’s marine conservation program team consisting of Dr. Vardhan Patankar, Head, Mr. Avik Banerjee and Ms. Zoya Tyabji, Project Associates, received an opportunity to attend a unique campaign against plastic pollution on board the Fishery Oceanographic Research Vessel (FORV), Sagar Sampada of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MOES).To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) o...

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(October 01, 2019) Oct 1, 2019: A delegation of the Wildlife Conservation Society – India (WCS – India) met members of the Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) at the CMLRE headquarters in Kochi. The Head of the Marine Conservation Program, WCS – India, Dr. Vardhan Patankar and Project Associates Mr. Avik Banerjee and Ms. Zoya Tyabji held talks with Mr. M. Sudhakar, Scientist – G (Director. CMLRE) and Scientist- C, Shri Subramanian.Marine team presented the mandate of WCS ...

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(September 18, 2019) Wilderness areas, long known for intrinsic conservation value, are far more valuable for biodiversity than previously believed, and if conserved, will cut the world's extinction risk in half, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.Wilderness areas - where human impact has been absent or minimal - are dwindling. The latest maps show over 3 million square kilometres (1.15 million square miles) of wilderness destroyed since the 1990s (an area the size of India), and that less...

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(September 06, 2019) Participants at the workshopA two-day capacity building workshop was organized by the Wildlife Conservation Society-India with the Wokha Forest Division, Department of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, Nagaland. The training focused on building capacity of 30 frontline personnel including officers from Forest & Police Department, and Dobashis (in-charge of adjudicating on customary law matters). The inaugural session was attended by Mr. Chonpenthung Ezung, SDO (Civil) HQ Wokha, Mr. ...

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(September 03, 2019) Compiled by Aditi RajanNot to be assumed as a win for conservation, but as a ‘nudge’ to bring focus to threatened species, the 18th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP18) was held in Geneva (Switzerland) between 17th & 28th August 2019. Originally scheduled to take place in Colombo between 23rd May to 3rd June 2019, the convention was rescheduled to Geneva citing security concer...

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(August 30, 2019) The Counter Wildlife Trafficking Team of WCS-India held a discussion with the staff regarding Best Practices to be followed when a wildlife offence is detected. Mridula Vijairaghavan, WCS-India's Legal Advisor spoke to the staff about importance of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 and on how to aid enforcement in taking action against wildlife offenders.She spoke about the course of action WCS-India staff should take when they come across a wildlife offence. This may be by providing detailed...

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(August 16, 2019) August 14, 2019: Country Director Ms Prakriti Srivastava visited Mumbai where WCS-India has been involved in long-term work with the Maharashtra Forest Department in order to mitigate human leopard conflict. The visit covered the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) which is home to the highest density of leopards reported anywhere in the world. The park is also surrounded by the metropolis of Mumbai where human densities are extremely high.Country Director WCS-I Prakriti Srivastava with staff Vid...

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(August 09, 2019) August 8, 2019: WCS-India team including Country Director Ms. Prakriti Srivastava, IFS along with Dr. Vardhan Patankar (Head, Marine Conservation Program), Mr. Avik Banerjee (Project Associate), Ms. Zoya Tyabji (Project Associate), Mr. Karan Deshpande (Project Assistant) and Mr. Dhruv Gangadharan Arvind (Program Assistant) met with delegates of the Dakshin Foundation team - Dr. Naveen Namboothri (Director and Founder Trustee) and Dr. Kartik Shanker (Founder Trustee).Dr. Namboothri introduced Dak...

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