Balaji Vedharajan

Founder

Balaji Vedharajan is the founder of OMCAR Foundation (2007)[1], an Indian non-profit working on environment from Thanjavur.

Balaji Vedharajan, also written as Vedharajan Balaji, is an Indian marine biologist and the founder of the OMCAR Foundation (Organization for Marine Conservation, Awareness and Research), which works on the conservation of the Palk Bay ecosystem in Tamil Nadu.

His work centres on dugongs, seagrass meadows and mangroves, and on involving coastal fishing communities in marine resource management.

Early life and education

Vedharajan's interest in marine life began in Palk Bay. In 1997, at seventeen, he built an underwater camera from a glass box and a film camera, together with flippers made from steel sheet, to photograph life on the local coast, and from 1999 began showing the photographs to schoolchildren. That year he also studied the exploitation of seahorses in Palk Bay and reported his findings to WWF.

He took an MSc in marine biology at the Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Annamalai University, between 2000 and 2002, and completed an MPhil there while serving as a senior research fellow. He later took a short course in grassroots GIS mapping at IIT Madras in 2009, and holds a PhD.

Career

Immediately after his master's examinations in 2002 Vedharajan made a 1,200 km solo cycle expedition through 594 fishing villages along the Tamil Nadu coast to raise awareness of marine conservation, and in 2007 made a 600 km solo sea kayak expedition along the south-east coast of India despite having no previous kayaking experience.

He founded the OMCAR Foundation in 2007 to conserve the Palk Bay ecosystem through participatory marine resource management, combining scientific and traditional knowledge. In 2011 he established the Palk Bay Environmental Education and Research Centre in Tamil Nadu, with a focus on dugongs and their habitat. OMCAR's work includes mangrove nurseries and planting, seagrass transplantation, underwater acoustic surveys and GIS mapping, alongside livelihood training for fisherwomen in areas such as dressmaking, hygienic fish handling and dry fish preservation.

Recognition

Vedharajan received the IUCN Commission on Education and Communication Young Professional Award at the World Conservation Congress in 2012, and has been a member of the commission since that year. He received the Tamil Nadu State Environment Award in 2014, a National Geographic conservation grant in 2014 for work on dugong habitats in Palk Bay, a Geospatial Excellence Award in 2015, the Blue Champions Award in 2021, and was made a Panorama Solutions Ambassador in 2022.[2][3][4][5]

OMCAR Foundation

OMCAR Foundation runs the Palk Bay Environmental Education Centre in Thanjavur district, Tamil Nadu, working with fishing communities on dugong and marine-mammal conservation, seagrass and mangrove restoration, and sustainable coastal fisheries.