Students take part in Marine Bio-diversity Conservation festival

 Source :livechennai

Students from 22 schools participated in the Marine Bio-diversity Conservation festival held here on Sunday. The festival was organized by Tree Foundation, The US consulate, Chennai in association with The National Bio-diversity Authority of India.

The event featured marine conservationists from the U.S., Australia, Seychelles and Trinidad. They shared their experiences with the aid of documentaries and speeches to inspire the students.

This is as a part celebration of 2010 as year of Bio-diversity. 

The aim of the event was to increase awareness about the significance of conserving bio-diversity and about the vital link between human life and the health of our oceans.

As part of the festival, Tree Foundation screened a seven minute documentary that explained how an injured sea turtle was treated and sent back into the sea.

“Ocean and coastal marine ecosystems play an important role in the health and welfare of human communities.

There is, however, growing alarm about the impact of human activity on communities of life in the sea. 

Major threats to marine and coastal ecosystems include coastal development, global climate change, invasive species, overfishing and pollution. 

A large number of marine species may be under threat of extinction due to the convergence of these threats,” said the U.S. Consul General, Andrew T.Simkin.