Inaugural "2013 Timi-Kurm Fest" in Karwar, India

I am sharing an invitation and details about the Inaugural "2013 Timi-Kurm Fest" in Karwar
Our marine ecosystem is often neglected. I hope this festival will help in raising much needed awareness among stakeholders. I wish the organisers all success.
Sabyasachi

-------
Dear Environmental and Wildlife Science Colleagues and Supporters,

Please consider this a personal invitation to attend the inaugural 2013 TIMI- KURM FEST: A COASTAL AND MARINE LIFE AWARENESS FESTIVAL" to be held in Karwar, Karnataka, India, October 18-20, 2013(In Sanskrit "timi" means whale and "kurm" means turtle).

This event is organized by Terra Marine Research Institute, India in collaboration with the Jungle Lodges and Resorts-Karnataka, District Science Centre- Karwar, Amrita Herbal Research Centre- Karwar and Karwar's Fishing Community.

This invite extends to members of your concerned organizations, as well as friends or colleagues who may be in the area and would like to attend the festival.
Copied here are the co-organizers of the event-Managing Director of Jungle Lodges and Resorts-Karnataka, Chief Naturalist of Jungle Lodges- Co-ordinator of the District Science Centre- Karwar and Director of Amrita Herbal Research Centre- Karwar

The 3-day 2013 Timi-Kurm Fest is an inaugural marine environment awareness event involving a variety of stakeholders from the public, government and non-government organizations, artists, academia, schools, industry, and the agricultural and fishing community from Karwar and nearby areas, brought together for the first time along the Karnataka coast.

While the event seeks to create a wide-scale environmental awareness among the coastal stakeholders, it also aims to support some disadvantaged families of artisanal fishers of Karwar for supplementing their livelihoods through alternate sources of income.

Artisanal fishing communities are integral to the preservation of endangered wildlife and natural resources in this UNESCO World Heritage Site and mega biodiversity hotspot. The event will also support financially the setting up a volunteer network for Karwar constituted by Terra Marine Research Institute with other coastal stakeholders to respond to stranded marine life, engage in coastal cleanups and educational activities.

It has been a pleasure working with many of you personally and professionally on marine environmental issues.We hope you would extend that privilege and support by not only attending the event, but also creatively enriching it by sharing your knowledge and experiences with the local community.

The registration deadline for those requiring accommodation within our arrangements is October 5th 2013. Those of you willing to arrange for your own accommodation ,but would like to participate in the event, the registration deadline is October 12th 2013.

A flyer on the activities and sessions that would be conducted during the event is attatched here

Those of you keen to attend, may please write to terramarineinstitute@gmail.com for further details,or interact through the Marine Mammals and Turtles of India Facebook group,where the event has been created.

Sincerely,

Mridula and Annie on behalf of all the Organizers of the 2o13Timi-Kurm Fest

Note:Terra Marine Research Institute,India was co-founded in 2012 by the marine ecologists Dr.Mridula Srinivasan and Dr.Annie Kurian who have focussed studies on Marine Mammals(whales and dolphins), and Sea turtles respectively. Dr.Mridula Srinivasan has headed the recent National and Regional marine mammal stranding response workshops in Cochin and Chennai, and Dr.Annie Kurian is the Editor of the recent [2013]WWF-India Publication-Marine Turtles along the Indian Coast,Status, Distribution,Threats and Management Implications.