International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has adopted a motion recognising India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in Palk Bay at IUCN World Conservation Congress 2025.
- To promote dugongs (Dugong dugon) conservation, IUCN encouraged extending the Indian model to other parts of the Indian Ocean and similar habitats worldwide.
Dugong Conservation Reserve
- Established in 2022, by the Tamil Nadu government under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- Covers 448.34 sq. km. in northern Palk Bay.
- The region is home to over 12,250 hectares of seagrass meadows.
- Seagrasses also support a host of other marine species, making the reserve ecologically significant.
- Seagrass plays a vital role in carbon sequestration.
About Dugong (Sea Cow)
- Key Feature: Only marine herbivorous mammals that depend on seagrass.
- Distribution: In India, apart from Palk Bay (highest), it is also found in Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, etc.
- Population: (expected about 200).
- Threat: Habitat degradation, hunting and unintentional captures.
- Status:
- IUCN Redlist status: Vulnerable
- Listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
