New Delhi: The Habitats Trust and Indian Navy have organised eight events in three naval bases: Karwar, Mumbai and Kochi to commemorate World Environment Day (June 05) and World Oceans Day (June 08). These events are in continuation of the MoU signed between The Habitats Trust, HCL Foundation and Indian Navy to assist in rejuvenating India’s coastal ecosystems and securing endangered indigenous species and their habitats.

The details of the events are:

•            June 05, Karwar (World Environment Day): A natural history walk focussed on birds organised at the Karwar Naval Base for the Navy officials and their families, led by Maxim Rodrigues K from The Habitats Trust’s On-Ground Initiatives team.

•            June 05, Karwar (World Environment Day): A talk on ‘Solutions to Plastic Pollution’ was held at the Karwar Naval Base by Abhishek Jamalabad, Lead, Marine Programme and Mr. Rodrigues. The talk highlighted the various aspects of plastic pollution, including its sources, components, impact on marine life, detection methods, and plastic accumulation zones in India.

•            June 06, Karwar: A session on marine mammals of India, their significance, and work planned by The Habitats Trust and the Indian Navy to study lesser-known marine mammal species across Indian waters was held by Mr. Jamalabad at the Karwar Naval Base for Indian Navy officials and their families.

•            June 07, Mumbai: At the Mumbai Naval Base, a talk was organised on the little known but rich intertidal marine life of Mumbai, including information about the many species found here and how people across the board have grown engrossed in documenting it over the past few years. The talk was led by Sejal Mehta, Lead, Communications and Outreach at The Habitats Trust, Farai Patel, Executive, Marine Programme at The Habitats Trust and Gaurav Patil from Coastal Conservation Foundation.

•            June 07, Karwar: A talk on marine life in the little-known intertidal habitats of India, with an emphasis on the ecological value of this habitat and how everyone can engage with it, was organised for Indian Navy officials and their families at the Karwar Naval Base. This talk was led by Mr. Jamalabad.

•            June 08, Kochi (World Oceans Day): Dr. Robin Abraham, Lead, Eco-Restoration programme at the Habitats Trust, led a talk on putting a context to the west coast: conservation issues and the role of Indian Navy and the partnership with The Habitats Trust in tackling these challenges at the Kochi Naval Base.

•            June 08, Mumbai (World Oceans Day): A seashore walk inside the premises of the Mumbai Naval Base for the officials and families of the Indian Navy was organised by The Habitats Trust, and assisted by Gaurav Patil from Coastal Conservation Foundation and marine biologist Harshal Karve.

•            June 08, Karwar (World Oceans Day): A walk in the intertidal areas of Karwar Naval Base for Indian Navy officials and their families was led by Mr. Jamalabad, which took a close look at some of the corals and reef fish that call these habitats home.

These events are in continuation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by The Habitats Trust, HCL Foundation and the Indian Navy in March 2023 in an effort to strengthen their contribution towards conserving marine ecology. As part of the partnership, all three contributors will work together to secure India’s coastal, oceanic and island habitats and species, and work with the Navy Welfare & Wellness Association (NWWA) and regional Naval Bases to engage in impactful local-level conservation work.

With this partnership, The Habitats Trust alongside HCL has committed to providing technical expertise and R&D under the supervision of the Navy in sustained biodiversity conservation action for important objectives. One of these is identification of areas of plastic accumulation in open seas and retrieving plastics and ghost nets in maritime waters. Ghost nets pose a significant ecological threat to the marine ecosystem as they lead to stranding, strangulation, drowning and starvation of marine fauna and flora.

The collaboration will also work together for collection of data of biological origin. The Habitats Trust will make science-based recommendations to lower the ecological footprint of the Indian Navy and formulate potential mitigation and restoration measures wherever required at the Naval Bases.