Mobile app KURMA helps save turtles in India

News: Union Environment Minister has hailed the KURMA mobile application as a unique tool for tracking and reporting Indian turtles.

Facts:

• KURMA App: It is aimed at turtle conservation by providing users a database to identify a species but also provides the location of the nearest rescue centre for turtles across the country.
• Developed by: The application has been developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network(ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.

Additional Facts:

• Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network (ITCAN): It is a citizen science initiative launched to provide a platform for the exchange of information on turtles and to provide assistance to enforcement agencies / forest departments.
• Turtle Survival Alliance(TSA): It was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises.