Living Seas: Towards a Sustainable Marine Future

Sarita Fernandes currently serves as a Consultant to the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Maharashtra, where she works on building capacity for city and district climate action cells across cities and districts of Maharashtra, and developing tools like the 'Guidelines for preparing city and district climate action plans'. She also supports coastal action state-wide projects with the Central Government and international agencies like the World Bank. With over six years of experience in climate policy and governance, she has worked with government agencies, CSOs, and international partners on key policies such as the Draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification 2018, the Coastal Zone Management Plans of Maharashtra and Goa, and the Goa Sea Turtle Management Plan. She has also contributed to the implementation of the State Action Plan on Climate Change within cities and districts of Maharashtra. As the first youth and woman Secretariat of the National Fishworkers Forum (NFF), Sarita has championed the inclusion of small-scale fishworkers and marine biodiversity as stakeholders in national and international policy dialogues. Her academic background includes a Master’s in Public Policy from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in International Relations and Foreign Policy from the University of Mumbai, specializing in UNCLOS and MARPOL. She is also pursuing an Executive Certificate Diploma in Sustainability Management from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) - Mumbai. 

Shaunak Modi is a marine ecologist and conservation professional who co-founded the Coastal Conservation Foundation (CCF). His interests lie in citizen science and identifying convergence research backed solutions for biodiversity conservation. At CCF, Shaunak oversees the organisation’s intertidal programme and serves as a co-investigator in the Coastal Cetaceans of the MMR project. Prior to his work at CCF, Shaunak held roles in wildlife tourism and IT services.

Ganesh Nakhawa is a 7th-generation fisherman from Mumbai's Koli community who left a career in finance to uplift his community through sustainable fishing and technological innovation. He studied banking in Edinburgh, Scotland and worked as a derivatives analyst at Aegon Asset Management before returning to India. Nakhawa is featured in the award-winning documentary Against the Tide. His work focuses on empowering fisherfolk by cutting out middlemen, improving market access, and promoting sustainable practices. He has achieved this through ventures and leadership roles within the fishing community and he has played pivotal roles in innovative startups like Skylо and Captain Fresh. In 2023, he founded BluCatch 2.0, furthering his commitment to transform India’s fisheries through fintech and digital transformation of fish landing centres.

Prof. Mahendra Sonawane received his graduate training in developmental biology under the guidance of Prof. Sohan Modak at the University of Pune. He then moved to the laboratory of Prof. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany, as a postdoctoral researcher, where he began investigating the genetic regulation of developmental processes using zebrafish as a model organism. Mahendra joined TIFR in 2009 and established a research program aimed at uncovering the genes and mechanisms underlying the development of epithelial tissues such as the epidermis and intestine. His laboratory continues to push the boundaries of epithelial biology and developmental mechanics. Currently, his research focuses on understanding the impact of nutrition on gut development, and he has co-pioneered a research platform that brings clinicians and basic biologists together to address challenges related to perturbed metabolic health.   Mahendra is deeply committed to mentoring young scientists and fostering interdisciplinary collaborations. Under his leadership, the Department of Biological Sciences at TIFR is planning to expand into new research areas that explore how environmental conditions influence life processes. He has been recognized with prestigious fellowships, including the Ramanujan Fellowship and the Wellcome Trust–DBT India Alliance Senior Fellowship, underscoring his contributions to the field.