Co-Chairs

Daniel Bexell Ayyachamy (1) Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury (2)

Red List Authority Coordinator

Sanjay Molur (1)

Location/Affiliation(1) Zoo Outreach Organization, 12 Thiruvannamalai Nagar, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, 641035, India(2) University of Dhaka, Department of Zoology, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh

Number of members

26

IUCN SSC South Asian

Invertebrate

Specialist Group

Daniel Bexell Ayyachamy

2016-2017 Report

Gawsia Wahidunnessa Chowdhury

Mission statement

The mission of the IUCN SSC South Asian Invertebrate Specialist Group is to encourage and assist invertebrate specialist institutions and agencies in South Asia to conserve invertebrate taxa at species, genetic and habitat level and to make it into a region that appreciate and conserve invertebrates.

Main activities by Key Priority Area

(2016 & 2017)

Capacity building

L Capacity building

i. This is based on one of the commitments of the IUCN Red List assessments of freshwater species that took place in 2013. As a continua-tion of this, we raised funds from CEPF to design and develop conservation education programs to provide the results to the people who live at the grass root level. All five states along the Western Ghats were covered. We conducted trainer training programmes in five states and trained more than 162 educators who later conducted awareness programs in their areas of influence. The program is still continues, as we formed a network of educa-tors. (KSR #17)

Communications

L Communication

i. Publication of the Bugs are all newsletter, a biannual publication of the regional network of ZOO. (KSR #28)

Conservation action

L Proposal development and funding

i. Poecilotheria hanumavilasumica is a CR species endemic to India that inhabits an island. The purpose of the project is to create a protected area for this highly threatened species. The Rainforest Trust is positive and ready to support this project. However, we are looking for match funding. Depending on the availability of match funds, the protected area will be created.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Zoological Society of London for the continued support for the overall functioning of the SG and also the Invertebrate Conservation Network of South Asia coordinat-ed by the Co-chair Daniel Bexell Ayyachamy. Thanks are due to CEPF and USFWS for their support to run conservation education programs. Thanks to Rainforest Trust for their support to conduct a feasibility study to create a protected area for theraphosid spiders. We also would like to thank Paul Pearce-Kelly, who is keen to help us with invertebrate conserva-tion activities in this region. Thanks to Sally Walker, founder of Zoo Outreach Organization, for her constant encouragement. Thanks to all the local institutes and organizations that helped to develop the freshwater biodiversity conservation education programme, even after the project ended.

Targets for the quadrennium 2017-2020

Barometer of life

Red List: (1) assessment of 53 theraphosid spiders of South Asia (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka); (2) assessment of 60 mantids of India.

Bolster work at national scales

Research activities: to conduct a surveillance study on the mosquitos of Southern India and to identify species shifts, if any, due to climate change (MOSI Project).

Conservation action

Conservation activities: create a protected area for the CR theraphosid spider P. hanumavilas-umica in Ramaswaram.

Summary of activities (2016-2017)

Key Priority Area ratio: 3/7

Key Priority Areas addressed:

• Capacity building (1 activity)

• Communications (1 activity)

• Conservation action (1 activity)

Main KSRs addressed: 17, 28

Resolutions 2016 WCC: 036, 085KSR: Key Species Result

Projected impact for the quadrennium

2017-2020

The priority, at this point of time, is to document information for species that require attention and to prioritize some important invertebrate groups that require conservation action. We hope that by the end of this quadrennium, we could assess some of the families of arachnids and phasmids to determine the species’ status. Other areas that we can complete within the quadrennium include the creation of a protected area for the Critically Endangered P. hanumavilasumica. Also, important component of our activities includes conservation educa-tion. Complete conservation education programmes will be developed for theraphosid spiders suitable for the target region. This definitely will help motivate the local community and its contribution to the conservation of spiders in Rameswaram Island.

Buthan glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii), much sought after by collectors Photo: Chada, Gogoi and Young