Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
The Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) is a national centre for information, education and research in ornithology and natural history in India. It was inspired by and named in honour of Salim Ali, the leading pioneer of ornithology in India. It is an autonomous organisation established in 1990 as a public- NGO partnership between the MoEF&CC, and the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) under the Centre of Excellence Scheme and registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act. Its headquarters are at Anaikatti, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. SACON is  associated with the Ministry of Environment and Forests 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". Objectives. The core objectives of SACON, to which all work of the organisation are directed, are: Organisation. SACON policy is determined by a 16-member Governing Council. Its chairman is the secretary/additional secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests. The SACON Society has 90 members and advises the Governing Council. Its president is the Minister for Environment and Forests. Administration of  SACON is overseen by a 16-member governing council and implemented by the director incharge The administrative section has a senior finance officer, junior administrative manager, personal assistant to the director, administrative assistant, accounts assistant, office assistant, stenographer and receptionist, two drivers and an office attendant. Infrastructure. <div> SACON's main campus is at Anaikatty, 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 of land is built up with around 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, and was dedicated on 11 February 2000. SACON also operates seven field research stations at: Port Blair, Mayabunder, (Andaman and Nicobar Islands); Singtam (Sikkim); Bharatpur (Rajasthan); Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh); Upper Bhavani (The Nilgiris); Kukkal (Kodaikannal in TN) and Silent Valley National Park (Kerala). The 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: The 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-ROM's 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. Each scientist is provided with a laptop computer and Pentium PC. There is a general  facility for students and visiting scientists. All are connected with a broadband Local Area Network. Research. 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. During 2007-2008 SACON undertook 19 research projects: Education . 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 M.Sc 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. 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, Sikkim" at Gangtok, Sikkim. A "National 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. Publications. 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.