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Save Dugongs

Marine conservation, rooted in a place

For Palk Bay.
For its wildlife.
For its communities.

Since 2007, OMCAR Foundation has brought people, science and practical conservation together along the coast of Palk Bay, southern India.

From seagrass meadows and dugong habitats to mangrove nurseries, classrooms and coastal villages, our work connects healthy ecosystems with the lives of the people who depend on them.

Explore our work Support OMCAR
2007A continuing commitmentEstablished in Tamil Nadu, India
Palk BayDeep local experienceCoastal ecosystems and communities
IUCNMember organisationPart of the conservation community

Our work

One coast.
Connected responsibilities.

Habitat protection, field research, education and community wellbeing belong in the same conservation story.

Sunlight filtering into a seagrass meadow in OMCAR’s Palk Bay image collection.
Underwater meadows. A living foundation for coastal marine life.

Our place · Palk Bay, southern India

A remarkable seascape.
A shared future.

Palk Bay lies between India and Sri Lanka. Along its Tamil Nadu coast, seagrass meadows, mangroves, marine wildlife and fishing communities are closely connected.

This is the setting for OMCAR’s long-term fieldwork. It is also home to India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve, established by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 2022.

OMCAR contributes field knowledge, community engagement and conservation experience within a wider effort involving government, researchers and local communities.

Discover our dugong work

Technical expertise, tested in the field

Understand the habitat.
Guide the action.
Keep learning.

Good conservation depends on understanding a place before intervening. OMCAR’s technical work brings scientific methods together with repeated field observations and the knowledge of coastal communities.

Read our research publications
01

Survey and map

Acoustic surveys, GPS and GIS help describe seagrass distribution. Underwater observations provide essential checks on what mapping methods detect.

02

Restore with care

Site assessment, preparation, community participation and follow-up monitoring are part of a continuing restoration process. Project records show successive field trials over several years.

03

Document and share

Research papers, photographic field records and practical training make experience available to conservation practitioners and partner institutions.

OMCAR’s field team preparing seagrass transplantation frames together on a boat.
From OMCAR’s seagrass restoration field collection.

A closer look · Seagrass restoration

The work begins
long before
the dive.

Before seagrass is transplanted, there are field assessments, conversations with local people and careful preparation. After planting, there is a return to the site to observe what has changed.

OMCAR’s field archive follows this work through successive restoration projects: preparation, transplantation and monitoring. It shows the practical effort behind the word “restoration”.

Follow the restoration fieldwork

A continuing field record

Commitment, measured in years.

Selected milestones from an organisation that has grown through sustained work with the coast and its communities.

2007

OMCAR is established

Marine conservation, awareness and research form the foundation of a lasting commitment to Palk Bay.

2017–19

Restoration in the field

Seagrass project records document community meetings, preliminary surveys, transplantation and monitoring.

2022

A milestone for Palk Bay

The Government of Tamil Nadu establishes India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve, in the seascape where OMCAR works.

2023–26

Learning through practice

Successive Marine Conservation Leadership cohorts connect young professionals with fieldwork and coastal communities.

Explore these milestones in their wider community, scientific and government context.

Read the CMS account

The OMCAR Palk Bay Centre

Where the coast
becomes a classroom.

A place for students to discover marine life, for young conservationists to gain field experience, and for practitioners to share knowledge.

Our centre brings marine education, conservation equipment, training and community engagement together in Velivayal village, Tamil Nadu.

Arrange a school visit Explore MCL
A group of school students learning outdoors beside coastal vegetation with an instructor.
Learning beyond the classroom · OMCAR field education.

Knowledge & accountability

Look closer at the evidence.

For researchers, conservation practitioners, government colleagues and funding partners who want to understand the work in greater depth.

2025

Traditional knowledge of seagrass distribution and phenology

Northern Palk Bay, Tamil Nadu, India
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of India

 2024

Mapping and restoration potential of seagrass habitats

An integrated acoustic and ground-truthing approach
Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing

 2023

Eco-friendly palmyra nursery bags for mangrove restoration

Field experimentation in Palk Bay, India
Restoration Ecology
IUCN MemberMember
organisation

Conservation is a collaborative endeavour. Learn about the institutions, organisations and communities connected with OMCAR’s work.
Explore our partnerships

Work with OMCAR

Local experience.
Shared commitment.
Lasting possibilities.

Support the patient work of conservation: understanding habitats, restoring suitable sites, strengthening local skills and opening opportunities for coastal communities.

Start a partnership conversation

Fund conservation

Discuss programme support for habitats, education, livelihoods and the field capacity that connects them.

Explore ways to support

Build conservation capacity

Connect institutional needs with practical training, field exposure and community engagement.

Discuss training
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