IUCN’ (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Species Survival Commission (SSC) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) have announced the establishment of the first-ever regional Center for Species Survival (CSS) in South Asia. This collaborative effort aims to enhance conservation efforts by wildlife experts and specialist groups and safeguard the rich biodiversity of India.

L-R-Mr. Vivek Menon (Executive Director WTI) and Prof. Jon Paul Rodriguez (Chair IUCN-SSC) sign the MoU for the first ever regional Center for Species Survival in India

The Center hopes to provide a platform for conservation practitioners to network and share best practices, as well as to contribute to species status assessments using the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and amplify the impact of species recovery efforts across the country. The Centre will further act as a bridge between the national and international efforts to save species. With India being home to numerous iconic and endangered species, the need for such a center has become more crucial than ever.

Vivek Menon, Founder and Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India said, “This partnership between IUCN SSC and WTI will ensure greater ground-level coordination amongst conservationists and scientists in India who are working on species survival. I am thrilled that WTI is able to host this initiative.”

WTI sees this Centre as a platform to enable various IUCN SSC members to coordinate work on species conservation. Confirming this, Jon Paul Rodríguez, Chair—IUCN SSC (Species Survival Commission) said, “I am happy that the Center for Species Survival India (CSS: India) is launched with the Wildlife Trust of India which will bring together the expertise and knowledge of 400+ SSC members in India to support species conservation at the national level, and provide a platform for younger, emerging conservation talent to join the SSC network.”

Rahul Kaul, CEO, Wildlife Trust of India believes that the Center for Species Survival is designed to help in the conservation and recovery of species and WTI through this center shall work closely with specialist groups in India to meet those objectives.

Centers for Species Survival are partnerships between leading conservation organisations and the IUCN SSC – a commission made up of more than 8,300 conservationists worldwide. Centers are hosted by leading zoological and botanical conservation organisations that are already engaged in work with key species or in specific geographical focus areas.

Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a conservation organisation established in 1998 with a mission to conserve nature, especially endangered species and threatened habitats, in partnership with communities and governments.

In its 25 years of operations, WTI has saved more than 42,000 animal lives, trained and equipped 20,000 frontline forest staff, and assisted the govt. in creating 7 Protected Areas, sensitised 25 lakh children to conservation, protected almost 1200 sq km of natural habitat including mangroves and coral reefs and assisted enforcement agencies in combatting wildlife crimes.