Marine Conservation Without Borders
Apoorva Kulkarni
Apoorva (Appy) graduated with a Masters in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from Pondicherry University, India in 2013. Her range of interests include the study of bioacoustics to understand the ecology and conservation of aquatic species, socio-ecological system dynamics and community-based marine conservation. Her current focus revolves around sustainable fisheries of Mobula rays, by-catch reduction technologies and understanding the implementation and regulation of wildlife trade.
She was then awarded a Global fellowship in Marine Conservation by Duke University where she explored a lot spanning from marine policy to conservation genetics of marine mammals. Appy has been involved in aquatic ecosystem research and outreach activities since 2012. In the past, she had been actively working on socio-economics of fishermen-otter conflict studies in Cauvery River, Karnataka. She is a member of the International Otter Survival Fund, Scotland and a partner with the Himalayan Otter Network.
She was appointed as a Campus Ambassador of Pondicherry University for the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) Rio +20 India Certification Program and elected as a “Messenger” to represent the Union Territory of Pondicherry at the Go4BioDiv International Youth Forum, Sunderbans, West Bengal and CBD-COP11, Hyderabad for “Conserving coastal & marine biodiversity for sustaining life and livelihoods”. She has worked with marine fishermen along the East Coast of India for creating awareness of nesting turtle habitat conservation and plastic pollution.
Personal views on the MCWB program
The experience at Duke rightly taught us that conservation can be carried out only through integration of interdisciplinary subjects. And to do so you need to have experts from various backgrounds coming together under one platform, on the field and work in collaboration to make conservation happen. That is exactly what our program “Marine conservation without borders” aimed for.
Brazil being a developing nation, had similarities in terms of economy, biodiversity and cultures in India which I could very well relate to. On looking deeper into the lives of the local fishing communities, I understood their reliability on Mother Nature and how significantly they act as conservationists. In that case, a solution from the community point of view and expanding the idea for implementation at a larger scale ought to be a successful outcome.
We visited several scenic locations of utmost conservation importance ranging from Marine extractive reserves to coral reef archipelagos. One of the most memorable moments was my rendezvous with the gigantic Baleen whale with its calf on our way to the Abrolhos Archipelago. I was mesmerized by the beauty of the life in the ocean and its tranquility.
We also visited a local school where we gave a presentation about our home country and its biodiversity. On viewing my comic strip “Turtle Times”, a student wrote a poem in Portuguese stating the importance of marine turtles and their conservation and she read it out to me. This was the most satisfactory feeling I have ever had. I realized that these little exchanges will remain in the minds of these children always and at least few of them might take a similar initiative ahead to sensitize the common man and future generations.
MCWB for me is a stepping stone towards understanding the ground truth and applying its understanding in my home country. Having met expertise with vast knowledge about the marine realm, from various sectors of the society, has enabled me to understand holistically how marine conservation takes place. Truly speaking the inspiration that I received through this trip has boosted my confidence even further to undertake marine conservation initiatives in my home country.