ØThis is for the first time ZSI signed an MoU with an IIT to work together on mutually beneficial projects focused on the study of the fauna of Thar Ecoregion.

ØIIT Jodhpur with members of Jodhpur City Knowledge Innovation Foundation (JCKIF) has undertaken Project Thar DESIGNS which aims to develop a framework for understanding the design principles that enable the biota to adapt to desert ecoregions.

ØBoth Institutions will benefit from the faunal diversity research through this scientific exchange.

JODHPUR, 12-July-2023: Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur and the Zoological Survey of India will be working together to collect, study and share the data related to faunal specimens for science.

The collaboration will support conducting of joint fieldwork expeditions, identifying fauna of the Thar ecoregion, and developing models for climate change based on ecosystem phenomics. The association will also help in undertaking specific joint research projects and capacity-building workshops in the areas of Systematic Zoology and Conservation to ensure the greater long-term conservation of animal genetic resources in the Thar region.

Prof. Santanu Chaudhury, Director, IIT Jodhpur shared his thoughts while signing the MoU, “This collaboration will lead to this growth of science in multidisciplinary sense across the country using AI and Data Science as well as various aspects of engineering and technology which is going on to enhance the efforts in terms of conservation of flora and fauna of the country. It’s the commitment of IIT Jodhpur to work towards bringing in new technologies and innovations in the space of conservation biology and trying to identify and build up this kind of repository not only in physical space but also in digital space as a huge implication and positive consequences for scientific development.”

ZSI is the largest repository of Fauna in the entire South and Southeast Asia region. With more than 100,000 species of animals known to occur in India, it has brought to the knowledge of scientific communities many new and endemic species. ZSI is the premier institution on animal taxonomy in India under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change of the Government of India.

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