Welcome to the Indian Turtle Conservation Program (ITCP), accessible via indianturtles.org, and the KURMA citizen science mobile application. These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website, mobile application, services, and scientific database (collectively, the "Platform"). The Platform is dedicated to advancing chelonian research, species identification, habitat protection, and citizen science participation across India.

By accessing, downloading, registering with, or using either the ITCP website or the KURMA mobile application, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must immediately cease all use of the Platform and uninstall the KURMA application.

The Platform is intended for use by researchers, conservationists, students, field volunteers, and the general public. To contribute observation data, you may be required to register an account. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete account information during registration and to update such information as necessary. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.

You agree to use the ITCP website and the KURMA application solely for lawful purposes related to biodiversity conservation, educational awareness, ecological monitoring, and citizen science participation. You must not attempt to disrupt, hack, overload, reverse-engineer, or tamper with the security, source code, or infrastructure of the Platform or its underlying servers.

The KURMA application allows users to submit field sightings, species photographs, morphological observations, geographical coordinates, and associated ecological details ("Citizen Science Data"). By submitting data, you warrant that your submissions represent true, unmanipulated observations recorded in accordance with ethical field practice guidelines, and do not contain false or misleading records.

All proprietary content, branding, software code, logos, visual interfaces, compilation databases, and underlying algorithms of the ITCP platform and KURMA application are the intellectual property of ITCP and its partner organizations, protected under applicable Indian and international copyright, trademark, and intellectual property laws.

We respect user privacy. Personal data collected, including user profiles, contact details, device attributes, and location coordinates is handled in compliance with applicable data protection laws. Location data associated with sightings is utilized primarily for scientific validation, species distribution mapping, and conservation management. For full details, please contact us for our comprehensive Privacy Policy.

Users are expected to foster a respectful and collaborative conservation community. Harassment, hateful conduct, spamming, upload of offensive material, or wilful submission of deceptive wildlife reports are strictly prohibited and will result in immediate termination of user access.

Submitted sightings undergo expert verification by species specialists. Validated data becomes part of the ITCP national chelonian dataset. Aggregated and anonymized data may be shared with scientific bodies, forest departments, and academic researchers to support red-listing, policy formulation, and habitat conservation efforts.

By submitting photographs and observation records to KURMA, you grant ITCP a perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, display, and distribute such media for conservation, education, research, and non-commercial publications. Copyright of individual images remains with the respective contributor.

To function effectively, the KURMA mobile application requires access to certain device capabilities, including GPS Location (for georeferencing sightings), Camera (for taking live photographs of specimens), Storage/Media Access (for selecting field photos), and Network/Internet connectivity. You may adjust these permissions in your device settings, though restricting permissions may limit app functionality.

The Platform may integrate third-party services, tools, or external resources (e.g., authentication providers, analytical engines, app deployment infrastructure). ITCP does not control or assume responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or operational practices of any third-party services.

Mapping and location-based features on the Platform may utilize Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, or related API services. Use of these services is subject to their respective terms. Maps, administrative boundaries, and location overlays provided on the Platform are for educational and conservation mapping purposes only and do not imply any official endorsement or legal stance regarding political territorial boundaries.

The Platform is designed for scientific documentation and rescue/conservation reporting. Users must strictly adhere to the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 (India) and local regulations. The Platform does not authorize or encourage handling, capturing, disturbing, keeping, or harming any wild species. Sightings of threatened species or precise micro-locations are to be masked or restricted from public display to prevent poaching or exploitation.

Account profiles and non-identifying technical logs are retained as long as the user account remains active. Verified citizen science observation records and scientific dataset contributions are retained indefinitely as historical conservation records, even if a user account is deactivated or deleted.

The ITCP website, KURMA application, and all content therein are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied. ITCP makes no guarantees regarding uninterrupted app availability, error-free automated species identification, or complete accuracy of user-submitted observations.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, ITCP, its affiliates, directors, researchers, and operational teams shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from your use of, or inability to use, the Platform, including any physical injury, property damage, or legal liability incurred while conducting field observations.

ITCP reserves the right to suspend, disable, or permanently terminate any user account or application access at its sole discretion, without prior notice, in cases of policy violations, submission of fraudulent data, or illegal activities endangering wildlife.

ITCP reserves the right to update or modify these Terms at any time to reflect operational, legal, or regulatory changes. Updated versions will be posted on the website and within the KURMA app. Continued use of the Platform after changes are published constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any legal disputes or claims arising under or in connection with these Terms or the use of the Platform shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts located in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.