A one day workshop “Piloting economic models for biodiversity conservation” was conducted on 9th November, 2011 at Ariankavu, Kerala. The workshop invited all stakeholders in the landscape and included VSS executives, Panchayath members, individual farmers  and officials of the Forest Department. The objective of the workshop was to present the economic model that was developed to bring communities together for maintaining and restoring natural habitats and increasing biodiversity in the landscape. Mr. Srinivas  Vaidyanathan, Managing Trustee of FERAL welcomed workshop participants and delivered the key note address. The meeting was presided by Mr. Johnson Thomas, Divisional Forest Officer, Thenmala and Ms. B. Ayammal, President, Ariyankavu Grama Panchayat.