SIG Topics
(IWEC) 2026
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) offer a forum that brings together practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to have focused discussions on a specific topic within wildlife ecology. These topics can range from niche research areas to specific technologies, methodologies, or applications within a broader field. SIGs allow participants to delve deeper into specific areas of interest, connect with like-minded individuals, share latest findings, ideate on the path ahead, identify gaps, and develop collaborations. Read more here.
Please click the SIG name
to view the description.
SIG Topics
(IWEC) 2026
Special Interest Groups (SIGs) offer a forum that brings together practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to have focused discussions on a specific topic within wildlife ecology. These topics can range from niche research areas to specific technologies, methodologies, or applications within a broader field. SIGs allow participants to delve deeper into specific areas of interest, connect with like-minded individuals, share latest findings, ideate on the path ahead, identify gaps, and develop collaborations. Read more here.
Please click the SIG name to view the description.
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SIG 1. Partnering for connectivity conservation: The coalition for wildlife corridors
Organiser: Divya Ramesh, Coalition for Wildlife Corridors
Connectivity, or ecological links between populations, habitats and ecosystems, is vital in today’s Anthropocene. Understanding connectivity opens windows into animal movement, behaviour, spatial ecology, and more. A lack of connectivity has implications for species persistence, community assembly and ecosystem resilience; thus connectivity is key for conservation. Yet, processes linked to connectivity are situated in heterogenous, complex, multi-actor landscapes and hence, require special consideration. With this recognition, a group of organisations created the Coalition for Wildlife Corridors to forge partnerships that bridge knowledge-action gaps and coordinate action towards connectivity conservation in India. The Coalition has since collaborated on corridor planning reviews, workshops with Forest Departments, creating a blueprint for connectivity science and conservation. In this SIG, we bring together people working towards connectivity science and conservation–members and non-members of the Coalition–to discuss next steps in partnering for connectivity conservation. We will begin with a short overview of current connectivity conservation and an update on Coalition activities. We will then gather into breakout groups to discuss: key challenges in connectivity conservation that require scientific study; advances in conservation technology and its application to connectivity science; networking to monitor the state of India’s corridors; incorporation of science into corridor management plans; and bridging the science-action gap for connectivity conservation. We expect to create working groups as an output of this SIG with clear deliverables related to these themes. We hope this SIG will spur action and momentum in partnering for connectivity and conservation.
Please contact Dr Divya Ramesh at divya@wcsindia.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 2: Initiating a horizon scan: Developing ethical protocols for acoustic monitoring in wildlife and ecology research
Organiser: Sarika Khanwilkar, India Ecoacoustics Network
Acoustic monitoring is increasingly used across ecological research and wildlife management in India. While these tools generate critical biodiversity data, they also record human voices, activities, and other anthropogenic sounds, which are primarily framed as threats. In a country shaped by an extensive human-animal interface and ongoing debates around Indigenous and community rights and dispossession, this characterization can be misleading. Lessons from the deployment of camera traps demonstrate how conservation tools can unintentionally function as surveillance mechanisms when implemented without free, prior, and informed consent. Despite these complexities, there are no ethical guidelines for managing and governing audio data with human noise or mitigating risks related to consent, privacy, and potential misuse.
This Special Interest Group will initiate a collaborative project to develop practical, accessible ethical guidance for acoustic monitoring. The goal is to co-create tiered recommendations that include essential practices, strongly recommended approaches, and optional best practices, that can be used by researchers and institutions working in diverse field contexts.
Participants will be invited to contribute to an 18 month horizon-scan process culminating in a peer review publication and synthesizing existing global guidance and identifying context-specific gaps for India. The SIG will introduce the project framework and process and recruit co-authors, including a list of invitations for those unable to attend in person. Outcomes will include a preliminary reading list and synthesis of existing literature endorsed by participating researchers on ethical considerations and social consequences of acoustic monitoring in wildlife and ecology research.
Please contact Dr Sarika Khanwilkar at sarika.khanwilkar@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 3. Crocodiles, communities, and conservation science: A special interest group for collective action
Organiser: Anirudhkumar Vasava, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
India harbors three crocodilian species—Mugger, Gharial, and Saltwater Crocodile—yet their conservation remains hindered by fragmented research, escalating human-wildlife conflict, infrastructure-driven mortality, and weak integration between science, communities, and governance. A dedicated, outcome-oriented space for dialogue among those working across these challenges is critically missing.
This proposal calls for a facilitated Special Interest Group Meeting at the Indian Wildlife Ecology Conference 2026—a 90- to 120-minute roundtable bringing together 15 to 25 crocodile researchers, practitioners, NGOs, government agencies, and early-career scientists. Unlike conventional presentation formats, this SIG is designed for collective thinking, experience sharing, and actionable planning.
The meeting will address eight interconnected themes—from human-crocodile coexistence and urban landscapes to monitoring methods, infrastructure impacts, rescue ethics, policy, and capacity building. Structured around participant introductions, thematic discussions, and collaborative ideation, the session will move participants from conversation toward concrete next steps.
Expected outcomes include the formation of a National Crocodile Conservation Network, establishment of thematic working groups, co-developed research and action roadmaps, and identification of joint projects and funding opportunities. The long-term vision is to establish IWEC 2026 as the launchpad for a sustained, interdisciplinary, and community-informed platform—one that bridges the persistent gap between crocodile research, field practice, and the communities sharing landscapes with these species.
Please contact Anirudhkumar Vasava at aniruddh.vasava@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 4: Increasing knowledge production from citizen science data
Organiser: Shasank Ongole, Bird Monitoring Team, Nature Conservation Foundation
Co-Organisers: Alen Alex P, Nature Conservation Foundation, Subhasmita Patro, Nature Conservation Foundation
Citizen science initiatives enable public participation in the biological sciences at unprecedented scales, providing big opportunities for research, conservation and education. Currently, participation is largely limited to data collection but the considerable scientific benefits of citizen science can only be realized if there is increased participation in the analysis of the data and knowledge production as well. Based on our experience working with professional and citizen scientists across India, we believe that the barriers to data analysis may include data complexity and limited guidance on appropriate data handling.
In this SIG, our aim is to understand the challenges that the community faces in generating knowledge from the data and to collectively create a roadmap to better understand and tackle them at scale. We aim to bring together around 10-15 researchers, conservation practitioners and citizen science coordinators.
We will begin the session with a short introduction to a few widely used citizen science datasets in India (eBird, iNaturalist and SeasonWatch) followed by the moderated discussion where participants will share experiences from different regions and taxa, identify common barriers, and discuss practical solutions to improve knowledge production from citizen science data. To aid the discussion, we will send out a survey questionnaire (on the YETI collective) to assess the use and analysis of citizen science datasets among students and researchers in ecology and evolution in India.
Please contact Dr Shasank Ongole at ongoleshasank@ncf-india.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 5: Integrating intersectoral approaches for India’s biodiversity policy: Green energy, agriculture, land use and forest rights
Organiser: Anish Banerjee, Think Wildlife Foundation
India’s biodiversity outcomes are increasingly shaped by policy decisions beyond the traditional conservation sector. Rapid expansion of renewable energy, agricultural intensification, land-use change, and evolving community forest governance are transforming landscapes that support wildlife and ecological processes. While India maintains strong wildlife legislation, biodiversity objectives are often insufficiently integrated into policies governing energy development, agriculture, and land-use planning. At the same time, the recognition of community forest rights under the Forest Rights Act has created new opportunities for decentralized and community-based conservation.
This Special Interest Group (SIG) will bring together researchers, policymakers, conservation practitioners, and legal experts to explore how intersectoral approaches can strengthen India’s biodiversity policy framework. Discussions will focus on four key domains: green energy expansion and biodiversity safeguards, agricultural policy and landscape restoration, land-use planning and habitat connectivity, and the role of forest rights and community stewardship in conservation governance.
The session will begin with brief framing presentations followed by a structured roundtable discussion. The objective is to identify key policy gaps, coordination mechanisms, and research priorities needed to better integrate biodiversity considerations across development sectors while supporting community-led conservation in India’s rapidly changing landscapes.
The discussion will also explore how Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can be incorporated into national policy frameworks to help India meet international biodiversity and climate commitments.
Please contact Dr Anish Banerjee at anishbanerjee27112001@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 6: Invasive species - synthesising knowledge across
Organiser: Geetha Ramaswami, Nature Conservation Foundation
Invasive species research in India has evolved over more than three decades with a predominant focus on plants, particularly within protected areas. This body of work has generated valuable ecological insights; however, much of our current understanding is derived from species-specific case studies conducted in localized contexts. While these studies have informed a wide array of management interventions, the resulting solutions are often highly specific to particular species and ecological contexts. Consequently, their scalability across regions, habitats, and taxa remains limited. Furthermore, sociological dimensions—including local livelihoods, governance structures, and community perceptions—are frequently underrepresented or entirely excluded from management planning, constraining long-term effectiveness and uptake.
This SIG seeks to bridge the gap between research and practice by providing a collaborative platform to management practitioners and researchers. The primary objectives are threefold: (i) to identify scalable, generalized, cross-species management approaches applicable across diverse habitats within an integrated framework; (ii) to diagnose key roadblocks that impede the implementation and upscaling of existing solutions; and (iii) to devise adaptive strategies for contexts in which management interventions prove ineffective or unsustainable.
The SIG will be structured to promote both knowledge exchange and critical dialogue, beginning with 30 minutes of focused case study presentations, followed by one hour of moderated discussion. Beyond the session itself, we aim to foster sustained engagement, with the hope of writing a paper or report collaboratively.
Please contact Dr Geetha Ramaswami at geetha@ncf-india.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 7: Bird window collision in India - What do we know and where do we go from here
Organiser: Peeyush Sekhsaria, Independent Researcher
Bird Window Collision (BWC) is estimated to kill over 1 billion birds in the USA. Despite rapid urbanisation in India, including the penetration of glass deep inside rural India, we know very little about BWC in India. In 2024 we analysed over 500 data points, a bulk of which came from two Bangalore based wildlife rescue groups. The study found that over 75 species are victims, certain show seasonal patterns and certain are at higher risk and that collision locations are widespread and not limited massive glass façade high rises. Additionally, birds like Rosy Starlings, Long-tailed Broadbills that operate in flocks are prone to mass collision deaths.
While a large community of ‘birders’ active on platforms like ‘ebird’ and other like ‘inaturalist’ have helped provide vital data on birds and natural habitats across the country, there is very little data on BWC. An iNaturalist page dedicated to this theme, “Bird Collisions India” created by the authors has only about 85 data points in over 4 years. This is not a charismatic theme and data remains a challenge. A survey carried out amongst the birding community revealed that BWC is known as a ‘western’ phenomenon and one which does not affect India as much. A survey amongst building professionals revealed surprisingly that BWC was relatively well known and there was a strong interest in addressing the same. This SIG would like to take stock on where we stand on BWC in India, and the way forward
Please contact Dr Peeyush Sekhsaria at peeyush.sekhsaria@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 8: Macroecology and macroevolution research in India
Organiser: Jahnavi Joshi, CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad
Macroevolution and macroecology help explain the origins and persistence of biological diversity across large spatial and temporal scales. Macroevolution studies the patterns and processes of evolutionary change over millions of years, while macroecology looks at species distributions across varied environments. In tropical Asia, the Indian subcontinent is exceptionally rich in biodiversity, hosting four of the 36 globally recognised biodiversity hotspots and possessing a complex geological history. This extensive biodiversity results from multiple ecological, evolutionary, and geo-climatic processes acting at very different spatial and temporal levels. However, research in macroecology and macroevolution is still emerging in India, and many regional biodiversity patterns and their underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood.
Over the years, efforts to document species, their distributions and evolutionary relationships across taxa and landscapes have increased. The availability of these large-scale datasets enables us to explore the ‘big questions’ about the mechanisms that shape biodiversity patterns. In this SIG, we aim to explore a wide range of questions, including why India’s biodiversity is concentrated in the mountains, including the Western Ghats and the Himalayas, why some taxa have more species than others, and how diversification rates vary across regions. We also seek to highlight and discuss significant gaps in our knowledge regarding datasets and the questions. Our goal is to bring together early-career and senior researchers who have contributed to our understanding of India’s rich biodiversity, and to discuss the challenges and future directions for macro research in India.
Please contact Dr Jahnavi Joshi at jahnavi@csirccmb.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 9: Process of ethical engagement with communities in India
Organiser: Karishma Pradhan, Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), Mysore
Co-organisers: Deepshikha; Shweta Shivakumar, Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore
Global movements towards ethical data sovereignty push us to consider how we do conservation and research with communities in India. Community-led conservation, interviewing local communities and indigenous people (IPLC), and participatory research are common in our work as conservation practitioners, researchers, and students. However, there is a need to deliberate on the pathways we employ at our organization and projects. Are they inclusive, ethical and respectful, centering the rights and knowledge systems of a community and their environment? What do inclusive and respectful local participation, social justice, and community-based conservation mean in practice? What are some of the best practices that we as practitioners can imbibe into our research and conservation interventions to respect the local communities’ right to be included in decision-making of conservation interventions and resource-use?
Through this special interest group, we hope to interact with current practitioners and discuss existing protocols for IPLC engagement. We will present the PARTNERS framework as a toolkit for ethical community engagement and also a tool that uses a human rights-based approach to mitigate human-wildlife conflict. Through a 60-min round table discussion, we aim to distill best practices of ethical community engagement at organizational levels for conservation interventions and research.
Please contact Dr Karishma Pradhan at karishma@ncf-india.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 10: The role of disease in human-wildlife interactions
Organisers: Samira Agnihotri, University of Trans-Disciplinary Health Sciences and Technology (TDU); Shomita Mukherjee, Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), South India Centre of Wildlife Institute of India, Ravi Chellam-Biodiversity Collaborative & Metastring Foundation
The past decade has seen a probable escalation in negative human-wildlife interactions in India, as evidenced by the number of media reports. It is likely that a proportion of these negative interactions between humans and wild animals can be attributed to neurological changes and anatomical changes caused by diseases. There is considerable evidence from other parts of the world to support this, for instance: canine distemper in the Amur tiger and rabies in the red fox (and many other wild carnivores), all have neurological pathologies that can present as disorientation, increased aggression and loss of fear. Climate change is also known to increase the susceptibility of reservoir populations for both wild and domesticated animals, leading to more frequent cluster outbreaks and newer manifestations.
At the same time, recent advances in low-cost portable diagnostic tests pave the way for improved disease surveillance and monitoring in the field. Our symposium aims to bring together wildlife biologists, veterinary doctors, one-health practitioners, wildlife managers and policy makers to work towards a best practices and guidelines document to investigate, and assess the role of disease in human-wildlife interactions.
This SIG addresses a current gap in our understanding of the drivers of negative human-wildlife interactions in India. We believe that these guidelines would be of value across sectors and would be an important contribution towards strengthening India’s approach to achieve the goals of the National One Health Mission.
Please contact Dr Samira Agnihotri at samira.agnihotri@tdu.edu.in if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 11: Human-Wildlife conflict and management of higher vertebrate pests
Organiser: Bhupinder Kaur Babbar, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
Human–wildlife conflict (HWC) and the management of higher vertebrate pests represent interconnected challenges in India’s rapidly changing agro-ecological landscapes. Expansion of agriculture, urbanization, and fragmentation of natural habitats have increased interactions between humans and wildlife, often resulting in crop damage, livestock depredation, property loss, and threats to human safety. Species such as the Asian elephant, Nilgai, Wild boar, Rhesus macaque etc. are frequently implicated in agricultural losses across different regions. These species, often categorized as higher vertebrate pests in specific contexts, create significant economic burdens for farmers, particularly smallholders. Management strategies in India emphasize a combination of ecological, behavioral, and community-based approaches, including habitat modification, fencing, repellents, fertility control, crop diversification, compensation schemes, and awareness programs. Legal frameworks such as the Wildlife Protection Act regulate interventions while balancing conservation priorities. Sustainable management requires integrated, site-specific strategies that reduce conflict intensity while ensuring ethical considerations, biodiversity conservation, and long-term coexistence between people and wildlife.
Please contact Dr Bhupinder Kaur Babbar at bhupinder@pau.edu if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 12: Innovating ecology: Technology for wildlife research
Organiser: Prachi Mehta, Wildlife Research and Conservation Society; Malyasri Bhattacharya, ZSL EDGE and Habitat Trust.
Wildlife research has undergone a paradigm shift with the integration of advanced technologies. Emerging tools such as telemetry, thermal drones, infrared camera traps, acoustic sensors, genomic sequencing, AI-driven image recognition and more such tools enable researchers to collect high-resolution data across diverse taxa and landscapes. These innovations provide opportunities to study animal behaviour, population dynamics, solutions for conflict resolution, reducing wildlife mortalities, studying ecological interactions, while also strengthening conservation. In addition to enhancing data quality and scale, innovative technology facilitates long-term monitoring, improves detection of cryptic or nocturnal species, and allows researchers to carry out intensive ecosystem assessments. These tools can also help in developing rapid responses to conservation challenges such as conflict mitigation, habitat fragmentation, and illegal wildlife trade, while fostering collaboration between ecologists and policy-makers. Technology-enabled approaches have the potential to reshape the scope and impact of wildlife research in India, bridging the gap between traditional field ecology and modern conservation science.
Please contact Prachi Mehta at prachimehta@wrcsindia.org, and Dr Malyasri Bhattacharya at me.malyasri@gmail.com, if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 13: Storytelling and theatre - Conservation outreach to non technical public
Organiser: Vikram Sridhar, Independent Researcher
As a Performance artist, I would like to propose a SIG on Performative Arts especially Storytelling and Theatre, which have Indigenous roots in conservation. A country like India, where Bias evolves through our connection with Nature, the way stories can be told has a high influence on children and families in reacting to the immediate ecosystem and in initiatives that goes to learning the unknown. Through the SIG, I would like to emphasise the role of Arts in technical institutions of excellence. From the Folktales of indigenous communities to Folk Myths that invoke cultural beliefs, the storytelling tradition has been an effective way of inculcating the values of our ecosystem. While the narratives of stereotypes can also be corrected through the same medium in recreating new content for species that have been abused. The need to even create new tales for smaller and large species in vernacular and English becomes critical. In a similar way, Nature clubs in Schools and Colleges can bring in conversations on the role of Climate Change, Endangered Species, Habitat Threat through the strong medium. This needs training and practice like any other skillset. The SIG will discuss how this can be initiated to even bring in more career opportunities for Nature based educators.
Please contact Dr Vikram Sridhar at vkram.srdhar@gmail.com if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
SIG 14: Establishing a community of practice to address illegal wildlife hunting and trade through integrated community surveillance and evidence-based protection
Organisers: Jose Louies, Wildlife Trust of India; Jimmy Borah, Aaranyak
Illegal wildlife hunting and trade (IWHT) continue to threaten biodiversity across ecologically sensitive landscapes, while increasingly complex trafficking networks challenge conventional conservation and enforcement responses. Addressing these threats requires stronger integration between ecological research, community participation, governance systems, and evidence-based protection approaches.
This Special Interest Group (SIG), jointly organised by Aaranyak and the Wildlife Trust of India, will bring together researchers, practitioners, enforcement agencies, policymakers, and community representatives to explore innovative and collaborative approaches to wildlife crime prevention. The session will focus on how community-led models such as Community Surveillance and Monitoring Teams (CSMTs), combined with scientific tools including spatial risk mapping, SMART monitoring, predictive analytics, and open-source intelligence, can strengthen early detection, deterrence, and response to illegal wildlife trade.
The SIG will facilitate interdisciplinary discussions on the ecology–crime interface, grassroots governance and intelligence systems, emerging trade threats including cyber-enabled wildlife crime, taxa-specific trade dynamics, institutional coordination, and socially inclusive conservation approaches. Through technical presentations, panel discussions, and interactive exchanges, participants will examine both opportunities and challenges in scaling integrated community surveillance frameworks across diverse landscapes.
A key outcome of the SIG will be the initiation of a broader “Community of Practice” focused on fostering collaboration, identifying research gaps, informing policy, and strengthening evidence-driven and community-centred approaches to mitigating illegal wildlife hunting and trade.
Please contact Dr Jose Louies at jose@wti.org.in and Dr Jimmy Borah at jimmy@aaranyak.org if you are interested in participating in this SIG.
Ashoka University
Wildlife Trust of India
