Echoes of Earth, one of India’s greenest festivals promoting sustainability and conservation through art, culture and music, is set to debut in Goa with Ensemble of the Wild: an evening of art, culture, music and meaningful conversations around conservation’ on January 5, 2024.
The event will point the spotlight on the endangered Western Ghats and the conservation of local biodiversity of Goa.
Aligning with Goa’s environmentally conscious ethos and backed by the Goa Tourism Board, the event, to be held at the Panjim Gymkhana, in Campal, will highlight the ecological importance of the Western Ghats, a UNESCO-recognised biodiversity hotspot.
The event will include panel discussions featuring stalwarts in the field of conservation in Goa.
The first panel discussion on ‘Ecotourism: A Guardrail towards Protecting Goa’s Biodiversity’, in association with the Goa State Biodiversity Board will feature herpetologist, wildlife photographer and artist, Nirmal Kulkarni.
Others on the panel are General Secretary of the Mhadei Bachao Abhiyan Goa, Goa State Wildlife Advisory Board, Goa State Biodiversity Board member Rajendra Kerkar and chairperson of Goa State Research Foundation, retired senior professor, School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Goa University professor M K Janarthanam.
The discussion will be moderated by Pradip V Sarmokadam, Member Secretary of the Goa State Biodiversity Board.
The second panel discussion on ‘Tales from the Wild: Exploring Goa – A Western Ghats Wonderland’, in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature-India, will feature project lead, Canopy Collective and ORA India Fellow Dr Nandini Velho, and wildlife rescuer and National Geographic show presenter at ‘Snakes SOS: Goa’s Wildest’ Benhail Antao.
The discussion will be moderated by Aditya Kakodkar, senior coordinator, Marine Conservation.
There will be performances by an eclectic mix of talented musicians from 8 pm onwards. The event will also host curated photo exhibits, upcycled art installations and a reading cove put together by World Wildlife Fund-India and Goa State Biodiversity Board.
"Art, culture, music and conservation hold immense potential as positive platforms for uniting people. Echoes of Earth aims to draw attention to ecological hotspots such as the Western Ghats, focusing on both music and active engagement with local communities," said Echoes of Earth founder and festival director, Roshan Netalkar.
"The festival has been organized in collaboration with the Goa Tourism Board as a joint initiative towards environmental awareness, fostering responsible tourism and resource conservation,” added Roshan.
Additionally, the festival will collaborate with Goa State Biodiversity Board, WWF-INDIA and Felis Films to celebrate and assist the efforts of local stakeholders in preserving the delicate biodiversity of the Western Ghats.
Echoes of Earth has scheduled a three-day festival in February in Chopdem, nestled in the coastal reaches of the Western Ghats, to celebrate the richness of the biodiversity hotspot on a larger scale.
Echoes of Earth is India’s greenest festival and aims to spread a larger message through meaningful art, culture and conservation, and 2023 marked its 6th edition in Bangalore.
The festival is set to embark on a new chapter as it expands to the scenic vistas of Goa with its debut edition, scheduled to take place from February 2, 2024 to February 4, 2024.