About Event

Seagrasses are the flowering plants that have adapted to thrive under the sea. They form dense meadows in shallow waters along coastlines worldwide except Antarctica. They form vital marine ecosystems that provide numerous ecological services such as carbon sequestration, breeding and feeding grounds for numerous marine organisms, and coastal protection, etc. They are home to many charismatic animals such as dugongs and turtles. Conservation of seagrass contributes to achieving 16 of the 17 sustainable goals proposed by the United Nations in 2015.

In India, major seagrass beds are found in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Gulf of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Islands as well as Lakshadweep Islands. Sporadic presence is reported at several locations along eastern and western coasts.

Despite their huge ecological importance, seagrass is one of the most threatened yet overlooked ecosystems on Earth. Major challenges seagrass ecosystems face includes threats from pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction.

This conference aims to bring together multiple stakeholders including researchers, academicians, policymakers, local community, citizens, news reporters, environmentalists to discuss the current state of seagrass ecology and biology in India and learn strategies for their conservation and restoration.

The main objectives of this conference are:

Encouraging citizen’s participation and community Engagement: To include local communities in discussions about seagrass management to ensure sustainable practices.

Knowledge sharing: To disseminate recent research findings on seagrass ecology and biology, species diversity, and their role in coastal ecosystems.

Establishing collaboration: Bringing governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations, researchers, students, local communities, citizens, media reporters involved with seagrass, together to foster collaboration.

Setting policy priorities for sustainable management: To discuss and propose actionable policies aimed at protecting seagrass habitats in India.