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IUCN SSC South Asian Invertebrate Specialist
Group
SAsISG
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The
South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group SAsISG is
hosted by Zoo Outreach Organization based at
Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Dr. B.A. Daniel, ZOO,
Coimbatore, India and Dr. Ather Md. Rafi, National
Agricultural Research Center, Islamabad, Pakistan
act as the co-chairs of the specialist group.
VISION: A region that appreciate and conserve
invertebrates.
AIMS: To conserve invertebrate taxa: species
level, genetic and regional level diversity.
OBJECTIVES: To assist individuals,
institutions and agencies in South Asia to conserve
invertebrates.
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: The South Asian Invertebrate
Specialist Group includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka.
PROJECTS:
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NETWORKING |
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To involve invertebrate
specialist and to establish group
membership, ensuring appropriate regional
and technical representation and to form SAsISG
network to meet the demands of the
Specilaist Group. |
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To form sub-networks
based on eco-functional groups. |
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To form e-groups. |
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ASSIGNMENTS |
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To identify issues,
problems and gaps related to invertebrate
conservation in South Asia at regional and
national levels.. |
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To solve taxonomic
issues of invertebrate species |
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To improve the skills
in taxonomy and species identification of
priority taxa of conservation concern |
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To identify threatened
taxa, endemic species at national and
regional level through species assessments |
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To direct studies on
surveys, monitoring, improve knowledge on
life-cycles for better implementation of
Action Plans |
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To identify important
invertebrate sites and unique habitats in
South Asia and to promote species
conservation |
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To identify actual and
potential threats for invertebrates changes
of attitudes, government policies, or
support |
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To announce and
intervene on acute symptoms of invertebrate
loss and to promote remedies |
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To prepare information
and Action Plans for land and freshwater
invertebrates on priority basis; publish and
deliver to relevant target audiences |
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To prepare taxon-based
action plans on selected high priority
species groups; publish and deliver to
relevant target audiences |
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COMMUNICATIONS |
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Develop linkage and
collaboration with the wider invertebrate
community/conservation bodies. |
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Liaise with IUCN actors
in promoting the work of the Group: Staff in
head quarters/regional country offices, IUCN
members, IUCN National committees, SSC
steering Committee members and SSC advisory
members. |
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To make invertebrate
species information accessible to
conservation officers in government and
NGO's. |
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To improve the public
awareness of the need to maintain
invertebrates as a biological resource. |
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PUBLICATIONS |
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To prepare annual
report and dissemination. |
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To publish review
articles on invertebrate conservation. |
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Read more about SAsISG
activities:
Invertebrate network activities for the year
2012-13
Invertebrate network activities for the year
2011-12
Invertebrate network activities for the year
2010-11
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Sub-networks of IUCN SSC South
Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group
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Invertebrates dominate all life
forms. From conservation perspective, all
invertebrate groups need equal attention due to the
important role they play in the ecosystem.
Invertebrate conservation faces multitudes of
impediments, which has been addressed in many global
conventions. The numerical dominance and vast
diversity of invertebrates alone is an obstacle
enough to invertebrate conservation!
In this regard, the South Asian Invertebrate
Specialist Group realized the need to prioritise
activities and has decided that one means of
prioritization would be by utility or ecological
functions. The ecological functions include the
purification of air and water, the stabilization and
moderation of the Earth's climate, the renewal of
soil fertility, the cycling of nutrients, the
pollination of plants etc. From this complex web of
interacting natural processes human societies derive
the multiplicity of benefits that has guaranteed
their survival and development throughout their
history: water, food, shelter, fuel, clothing,
medicines, building materials, aromatics, dyes,
means of transport, power generation and a myriad of
other benefits.The following are some of the eco
functional groups for which networks has been
initiated for the first two networks and for the
rest in due course.
* Invertebrate Pollinators
* Aquatic (Freshwater) invertebrates
* Aquatic (marine) invertebrates
* Terrestrial invertebrates
* Under soil invertebrates
* Agro diversity invertebrates
The objectives of these network are:
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To identify all field biologists in South Asia working on different functional group themes (mentioned above) and network them to promote conservation particularly through field studies. |
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To plan and execute activities such as training programmes, workshops and meetings. |
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To bring out publications related to above themes for better exchange of ideas and |
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To educate policy
makers and general public about this issue. |
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Invertebrate Pollinator Network of South Asia (IPNSA)
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The Invertebrate
Pollinator Network of South Asia is an activity of the South Asian Invertebrate
Specialist Group and ICINSA. Pollinating invertebrates is one
of the most significant of the functional groups
since 1) the survival of a multitude of other
organisms depends on a working food chain which a
decline in pollinating invertebrates surely will
affect and 2) reports from many countries in the
world indicate that pollinating invertebrates are in
serious decline. In South Asia, there are limited
studies; therefore little information has been
forthcoming.
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Aquatic (Freshwater) Invertebrate Conservation Network of South Asia
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The Aquatic Freshwater Invertebrate Conservation Network of South Asia is an activity of the South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group and ICINSA. Freshwater and freshwater biodiversity constitute a valuable natural resource. Conservation and management of freshwater biodiversity and freshwater ecosystems are critical to the interest of all humans. Freshwater biodiversity is declining far greater than those in the most affected terrestrial ecosystems. Two hotspots in South Asia are the focus of attention towards conservation of freshwater biodiversity.
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Aquatic (Marine) Invertebrate Conservation Network of South Asia
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Five South Asian countries namely Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have 160,000 km2 coastal zone with 135 million people living with in it. As evidenced in literature, this region is rich in ecological diversity and mangrove ecosystem in this region is unique that make up 8% of the world’s mangrove areas. The coral reef support a diverse variety of fauna and flora. Large scale exploitation of natural resources has become a concern as many marine species population are declining due to various anthropogenic threats affecting its population.
Some of the broad line objectives of this network are to identify and network Marine invertebrate researchers and field biologists of South Asia, develop database and checklist of selected marine invertebrates of South Asia, training on marine invertebrate species taxonomy, encourage members to take up field research, rapid species assessments, develop an action plan for marine invertebrate conservation for South Asia, education and web publication, collating information and lobbying for marine species conservation and identifying important marine species habitats and status understanding.
This newly formed sub network on Aquatic (Marine) Invertebrate Conservation and Information Network of South Asia will be co-chaired by Dr. B.A. Daniel, Scientist and Chair of the South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group and Dr. R. Ramanibai, Professor, Department of Zoology, Madras University, Chennai.
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SAsISG Activity Report:
Invertebrate
Pollinator Conservation and Education Workshop
Report 2013
Freshwater
Biodiversity Conservation Education Training
Workshop Report 2013
Assessment
of South Asian butterflies for conservation
prioritization
Education
on Conservation of Freshwater Biodiversity of
Western Ghats Report 2012
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To become a member of the sub-networks download the application form
Pollinator Network
Aquatic (Freshwater) Invertebrate
Aquatic (Marine) Invertebrate
For more information contact badaniel@zooreach.org
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©2015 Zoo
Outreach Organization |