Logo of the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) is the South India centre of WII is a national centre for information, education and research in ornithology and natural history in India.
SACON's mission is "To help conserve India’s biodiversity and its sustainable use through research, education and peoples' participation, with birds at the centre stage".
SACON's main campus is at Anaikatty, 24 km (15 mi) northwest of Coimbatore, near the trijunction of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka at the foothills of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It offers multiple opportunities for long-term studies on various aspects of avifauna and the biological principles and phenomena involved in the maintenance of fragile eco-systems.
Its 223,000 square metres (2,400,000 sq ft) of land is built up with around 3,438 m2 (37,010 sq ft) of buildings for housing offices, laboratory, library, common facilities and a student hostel. The unique round buildings of the campus were designed by Laurie Baker (1917–2007), a world-renowned eco-friendly architect,[1] and was dedicated on 11 February 2000.[2]
Laboratory
The 1,022 m2 (11,000 sq ft) SACON laboratory is equipped with advanced scientific equipment to support their research and educational programmes. It is probably the best in the country for ecotoxicological studies of birds and wildlife and includes the following:
Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer for analysing metal residues
Mercury Hydride Generator for AAS, Perkin Elmer for analysing mercury and other hydride forming elements
Microwave Digestion System, Milestone Model 1200 for digesting samples for analysis in the AAS
Gas Chromatograph with detector
Gas Chromatograph, Hewlett Packard Model 5890 Series II with three detectors, (Electron Capture Detector, Nitrogen Phosphorus Detector and Flame Photometric Detector) for analysing pesticide residues and organic pollutants.
The 1,394 m2 (15,000 sq ft) 2-story library building can accommodate around 50 people. Total holding of the library is 2813 Books, 2381 back volumes of periodicals, 75 Current periodicals (Indian 44; International 31), 2706 maps and 51 CD-ROMs of reference materials. Internet literature searching is available to the staff and students. The library facilities are available to students, scholars and scientists from other institutions.
Research activities are coordinated by the Director Incharge and conducted by five research divisions, namely conservation ecology, ecotoxicology, environmental impact assessment, landscape ecology and restoration ecology. Within the divisions there are research programmes in: Avian ecology and endangered bird conservation, Man and biodiversity conservation, Wetlands conservation, Environmental contamination and biodiversity, Environmental Impact Assessment, Modelling and simulation and Nature Education. The scientific staff includes three Senior Principal Scientists, four Senior Scientists, and one Nature Education Officer.[5]
During 2007-2008 SACON undertook 19 research projects:
Strengthening community conservation efforts in Nagaland – A programme to impart technical support on biodiversity conservation and livelihood options to communities, Phase 1: Phek, Tuensang, Kiphere, Longleng and Mon Districts;
The SACON is affiliated with Bharathiar University. In 2006–07, 26 SACON students were enrolled for PhD and 2 for M.Phil. One PhD degree was awarded and three theses for PhDs submitted. Eight MSc students from different colleges and universities did their dissertation work at SACON for the partial fulfillment of their degree.
The nature education division conducted several programmes including a one-month residential vacation training programme on Bioresources for School Children.
SACON collaborates with the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on the People’s Biodiversity Register through School Children programme, involving five local schools.
In addition to student research programmes, other nature education programmes conducted during 2006–07 included Nature Camps for students of Coimbatore, Wildlife Week Celebrations, Nature Awareness Competitions and Sálim Ali Trophy awards, Young Bird Watcher of the Year contest, Sálim Ali Birth Anniversary celebrations,
World Wetlands day Programme, The 3rd Children’s Ecology Congress (CEC) and Naming common butterflies in Tamil.
"Song of Sparrow: Nature Education e-Newsletter" a bimonthly e-newsletter was also published and circulated to the Salim Ali Naturalists Forum during the period.
SACON also conducted short term training programmes on instrumentation and analytical techniques and offered analytical service to industries and academic institutions.
Consultations and conferences
A rapid environmental assessment of the Kundah pumped storage hydro electric project in the Nilgiris was completed. Another EIA project for the Mumbai trans-harbour sea link project: Study of Flamingos and migratory birds was completed.
Andhra Pradesh Community Based Tank Project – Environmental and Social Assessment Study was also completed.
During 2006–2007, SACON conducted a Workshop on Conservation and Management of Biodiversity in Teesta Valley, SikkimatGangtok, Sikkim. ANational Conference on Biodiversity Conservation and Human Well-being was conducted jointly with the Department of Zoology, Osmania University.
SACON staff presented papers in 58 national and international conferences, workshops and seminars and delivered 13 invited/plenary lectures.[3]
Several research communications were made during 2006–2007 by SACON researchers. These included 12 scientific reports, 28 research papers, 8 chapters in edited books and 5 articles in technical newsletters.[3]
^ abSACON (2001). "Profile and Mission". Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. Angler Technologies. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
^ abcDirector Incharge. Annual Report 2006–2007(PDF) (Report). Anaikatty, Coimbatore – 641 108 India: Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
^SACON (2001). "Infrastructure". Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. Angler Technologies. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
^SACON (2001). "Research Plans". Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. Angler Technologies. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
^Director Incharge. Annual Report 2007–2008(PDF) (Report). Anaikatty, Coimbatore – 641 108 India: Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History.{{cite report}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
