The Indian Wildlife Ecology Conference (IWEC) 2026 was held between 10-12 July 2026 at Ashoka University, Sonipat, bringing together over 500+ researchers, conservation practitioners, students, policymakers, and wildlife enthusiasts from across India and beyond. Over three days, the conference provided a vibrant platform for sharing research, exchanging ideas, fostering collaborations, and strengthening the wildlife ecology community.

The scientific sessions featured three paired plenary sessions, 20 symposia, 10 open sessions, 14 Special Interest Group (SIG) meetings, two panel discussions, a special policy-focused session, an interactive session on publishing, a special address by Rohini Nilakeni, and 83 poster presentations. Together, these sessions showcased the breadth and diversity of contemporary ecological and conservation research in India and generated engaging discussions across disciplines and regions. A highlight of this year’s IWEC was the Ajith Kumar Opportunity Grant and the Ajith Kumar Award for Outstanding Research Paper in Ecology. These were established to honour the legacy of Dr Ajith Kumar, whose vision and leadership were instrumental in creating the Indian Wildlife Ecology Conference.

The conference was made possible by the tremendous support of Ashoka University in collaboration with the WTI team. We are deeply grateful for the strong support of the leadership and teams at Ashoka, including administration, accommodation, hospitality, IT, communications, media, and security. A dedicated team of volunteers worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that registration, scientific sessions, accommodation, transportation, poster presentations, and participant support ran seamlessly throughout the conference.

We believe IWEC 2026 further strengthened the wildlife ecology community in India. The enthusiasm and engagement of participants, the many new conversations that emerged during the conference, and the ideas shared during the Taking IWEC Forward session underscored the value of IWEC as a platform for scientific exchange, community building, and collective action.

We are deeply grateful to our organising partners, sponsors, exhibitors, donors, and supporters whose contributions enabled us to keep the conference accessible and support the participation of students and early-career researchers.

Our sincere thanks go to the Steering Committee, Science Committee, Organising Committee, symposium and SIG organisers, plenary speakers, panelists, reviewers, volunteers, and all those who contributed their time, expertise, and effort to make IWEC 2026 possible.

Most importantly, we thank every participant who travelled from near and far to be part of IWEC 2026. Your curiosity, passion, goodwill, and commitment to ecology and conservation are what make this community special. It was your presence and participation that transformed the conference into a memorable and meaningful gathering.

We are deeply grateful to Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, National Centre for Biological Sciences, eObs, The Habitats Trust, The Corbett Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Trust, WWF-India, Nature Conservation Foundation, Centre for Wildlife Studies, Indian Institute for Human Settlements, and Dakshin Foundation for their invaluable support and shared commitment to advancing ecology and conservation in India.

As we reflect on the success of IWEC 2026, we look forward to building on the connections, conversations, and collaborations that began here. Please continue to visit this website for conference updates, resources, and future announcements.

For any feedback you can write to us at contact@iwecindia.in

Thank you for being part of IWEC 2026.

Team IWEC 26

• Manvi Sharma, Co-Convener, IWEC 26
• Shivani Krishna, Co-Convener, IWEC 26
• Meghna Agarwala, Co-Chair, Science Committee 
• VV Robin, Co-Chair, Science Committee
• Anupama Ambika Anilkumar, Co-Chair, Steering & Organising Committee
• Bindu Raghavan, Co-Chair, Steering Committee 
• Akshay Bhardwaj, Organising Committee 
• Manjula Harikrishna, Conference Coordinator