Dates: 7.30 a.m., July 13, 2014
Venue:Â Nature Information Centre, Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai
Contact Details: Caesar Sengupta, Tel.: +91Â 98198 39821; Yogesh Chavan, Tel.: +91 93247 16956
India's numero uno in amphibian research, the man who has discovered over 100 new species of amphibians - Dr. S.D. Biju, will lead the frog walk. Sanctuary Asia Editor Bittu Sahgal, who has been at the forefront of the battle to protect wild India for three decades, will be the chief guest for the day.
"Amphibians are the most threatened group of vertebrates in the world. Almost half are in decline for one reason or another. Amphibians as a group, have the highest number of critically endangered species (18 out of 55 species in India) - one in three species is threatened with extinction," said Dr. S.D. Biju in this interview with Bittu Sahgal.
The walk will be coordinated by a team of renowned naturalists and wildlife photographers who will familiarise you with the different common species of amphibians found around us and guide you in photographing them. It will serve as an awareness campaign to spread the importance of conserving lesser faunal species such as frogs. In an attempt to take this effort to a national level, similar frog walks will be held across the country at 15 different locations on the same day.
The frog walk in Mumbai will conclude with the award distribution ceremony of the nationwide amphibian photography contest conceptualised by Lost Amphibians of India, powered by Sanctuary Asia with Dr. Caesar Photography (DCP) as the operational partner.
The walk aims to enhance the knowledge of enthusiasts by facilitating direct interaction with experts and promises to be an exciting walk.
There are no entry fees and anyone can participate in the frog walk. So get your friends along and spend a Sunday morning with these beautiful tiny creatures!
7.30 a.m.: Frog Walk with Dr. S.D. Biju and team
10.00 a.m. : Breakfast
10.30 a.m.: Talk by Dr. S.D. Biju
11.00 a.m.: Talk by Bittu Sahgal
11.30 a.m.: Award Distribution
12.30 a.m.: Closing ceremony
About Dr. Sathyabhama Das Biju: Dr. S.D. Biju is a Professor in the Department of Environmental Biology, University of Delhi and has a PhD in Biology (Animal Science: Amphibians) from Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, as well as a PhD in Botany from Calicut University in plant systematics. He is also Scientific Associate at the British Museum of Natural History, London, and a visiting researcher/faculty at Vrije Universiteit, Brussels. Dr. S. D Biju specialises in systematics of Indian amphibians, with over 25 years of field experience. A field biologist, who has worked in remote corners of many Indian forests, he is the only living individual to have discovered over 200 new species of amphibians (55 formally described till 2012), including the description of a new family, six new genera and the smallest Indian tetrapod. Not only that, he also has described 12 new plant species till 2012. Dr. S. D. Biju is the recipient of the prestigious IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group's Sabin Award in 2008 in recognition of his amphibian research and conservation initiatives. He is the coordinator of Lost! Amphibians of India programme, an initiative to rediscover 50 ‘lost' amphibians which have been not reported after their original description, for a period ranging from 30 to 170 years.
