Q. When did you begin work with ReefWatch? What was the idea behind it?
A. I started working with ReefWatch about two years ago. I was a diving instructor for five years, working in the Andaman Islands as well as in Lakshadweep before that. Diving on these reefs everyday made me see how much our lives on land affect these treasures. When a forest is slashed or burned on land, the world rises in outcry, yet we were losing massive tracts of coral reefs — rainforests of the ocean — daily, without realising it. Seeing this loss before my eyes, I wanted to be involved in protecting it. After a Masters in Marine Biology & Conservation, I joined ReefWatch — which has been active in marine protection since 1993 — to do my bit for the sea. Prahlad Kakar and his wife Mitali founded ReefWatch around the time when they first dived in Lakshadweep. The idea was to raise awareness about India's beautiful reefs, and to facilitate scientific research and documentation of the area to help inspire people to protect this rich heritage, and to formally advise governmental agencies in policy making towards the same.

Nayantara Jain explores fan corals around the Andaman Islands. Pic Courtesy/SUmer Verma