Publications

Johnson, J.A., Rajpurkar, S., Aggarwal, A. et al. (2026).

This document reports on the population status of dugongs in Tamil Nadu, covering Palk Bay, including the Dugong Conservation Reserve and seagrass habitats in the Gulf of Mannar. The report presents population estimates using non-invasive, state of the art tools, confirming that together, Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar represent India’s largest viable dugong population.

Seal, S., Bayyana, S., Pande, A., et al. (2026), Scientific Reports.

Published in Scientific Reports, this study identifies suitable dugong habitats in Indian waters and examines the environmental factors that influence them. The researchers combined environmental modelling with interviews, citizen-science data and field surveys to identify suitable habitats and assess the risks they face. Seagrass presence was the strongest determinant of habitat suitability, while depth, seabed slope and distance from shore were also important. Dugong habitat suitability varied by region and season, with shifts observed between Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. Many suitable habitats face moderate to high risks, with less than 15% of high-risk areas falling within existing protected areas. Identifying these critical dugong habitats can help guide conservation planning as India works towards the global 30 × 30 biodiversity target. The study also demonstrates the value of citizen-science for conducting ecological analyses across large geographic areas.

Digdo, A.A., Astari, E., Arinda, B.R., and Cahyono, T. (2025), BIO Web of Conferences.

Published in BIO Web of Conferences, this study explores the use of drones and artificial intelligence to detect dugongs under limited-resource conditions in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Combining CMS Dugong Questionnaire data, seagrass habitat mapping from the Allen Coral Atlas, drone surveys, and AI-assisted image analysis, the researchers conducted 28 flights covering 12.09 km² and recorded 56 dugong sightings. While manual image analysis proved more reliable, AI detection achieved only 17.6% precision, highlighting the need for larger and more diverse training datasets. The study demonstrates the potential of combining affordable technologies, habitat data, and local ecological knowledge to improve dugong monitoring and guide conservation in areas where resources and population data are limited.

Project Seagrass (2026).

This article highlights new research revealing the critical role of seagrass meadows in supporting the livelihoods and food security of millions of people living in poverty across the Indo-Pacific. The study estimates that at least 18 million people living in poverty fish in seagrass meadows, including around 6.5 million who may depend entirely on these habitats for subsistence and fishing-related income. It also finds that households experiencing extreme poverty are more likely to depend exclusively on seagrass fisheries and that seagrass-dependent households earn around 23% less than other fishers. The findings highlight the importance of integrating seagrass conservation into poverty alleviation, food security, sustainable fisheries and development strategies, particularly in vulnerable coastal communities.

Pathan, S., Christian, G., Sivakumar, K. and Johnson, J.A. (2026), Scientific Reports.

Published in Scientific Reports, this study investigates how dugongs adapt their foraging behaviour to the highly dynamic tidal conditions of the Gulf of Kachchh, India. Using more than 1,500 feeding trails recorded across seagrass habitats between 2018 and 2023, the authors found that tidal accessibility strongly shapes where and how dugongs forage. Dugongs preferentially used areas close to deep-water refuges and tidal creeks, adjusting the distance travelled according to water depth and seagrass availability. With an estimated 73.4% of mapped foraging areas influenced by tides, the study highlights the importance of protecting not only seagrass meadows but also tidal refuges and movement corridors when designing conservation strategies for dugong populations in macro-tidal environments.

Jones, B. et al. (2022), Ecology & Society, 2(10)

Published in Ecology & Society, this paper used tropical seagrass meadows in the Indo-Pacific as a model social-ecological system to investigate how sustainable development initiatives can result in unintended consequences with both positive and negative outcomes for the environment and society. The researchers analysed initiatives and their effects to show that sustainable development initiatives can produce unintended effects with major consequences that can undermine the initiative’s objectives. The paper emphasises the need for an a priori process that considers effects when planning interventions.

Malakar, B. et al. (2022), Aquatic Mammals,48(1): 21-24

Jones, B. et al. (2022), Ocean & Coastal Management, Volume 225 (106247)

Annual Progress Report

Wildlife Institute of India, (Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change), Dehradun.

Final Report for Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) Project (2012)

Prepared by the Task Force for Conservation of Dugongs in India under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. An assessment of  issues related to the conservation of dugongs and implementation of the CMS Dugong MOU in India, to facilitate the country to act as the leading nation in the South Asia Sub-region with respect to dugong conservation.

United Nations Environment Programme (2001)