OMCAR Foundation

The OMCAR Foundation, the Organization for Marine Conservation, Awareness and Research, is a Tamil Nadu trust working on the Palk Bay coast. Established in 2007, it combines field research and restoration with community livelihoods and school education, and has been an IUCN member in the National NGO category since 2012. Its field work covers seagrass restoration and mapping, mangrove restoration through community nurseries, response to dugong and turtle strandings, and training for fisher families. It runs the Marine Conservation Leadership internship for older students and researchers, and holds formal agreements with the Wildlife Institute of India and the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. Education is delivered through a dedicated centre opened in 2011, which hosts one-day school visits and residential nature camps, alongside awareness programmes run with district eco-clubs and the National Green Corps. The organisation states that it provides its environmental education, training, awareness and research support to students without charge, and gives priority to government schools.