A National Centre for Marine Biodiversity (NCMB) is coming up in Jamnagar, Gujarat. The centre will have the goal of safeguarding the biodiversity of coastal area. It is the first research institute set up in a public private partnership in the country. Jamnagar is close to India’s only Marine National Park in the Gulf of Kutch. The overall mission of the centre will be to support integrated management of coastal and marine biodiversity and ensure sustainable development and hazard management. … Read More
Coral Reefs Face Extinction Before the End of the Century
Coral reefs around the world are facing extinction before the end of the century, due to increasing acidity in the ocean. A study which analyzed volcanic seeps that emit minerals and gases has shown that diversity and complexity of Coral Reefs drops as pH values fell from 8.1 to 7.8 and reef development stopped completely when the pH fell to below 7.7. The study of the seeps comes closest to simulating the effects of man made CO2 emissions. … Read More
Study to understand impact of Jaitapur Nuclear Project on Marine Ecology and Biodiversity
The National Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) has planned to undertake a study to understand the possible effects of the Jaitapur Nuclear Power Project on the marine ecology and biodiversity. The study will be conducted by five environmental organizations and headed by the BNHS director, A.R. Rahmani. The marine ecology around Jaitapur is considered vibrant. The study is expected to take a year and cost Rs. 5.86 crore. However, activists and experts are skeptical of the study as environment … Read More
Record Release of Olive Ridley Turtle Hatchlings in Chennai Coast
Over 14,000 hatchlings, coming out of around 180 nests, have been released this season in the 14-km stretch between Napier’s bridge and Neelangarai on the Chennai coast. The nests were relocated to safer locations using scientific protocol. Sustained action by conservationists have helped with turtle conservation. For instance, the Casuarina trees planted as part of the Tsunami Reconstruction encroached upon the turtle nesting sites. Sustained efforts from conservation NGOs caused the World Bank to withdraw its loan and the forest … Read More
Sundarbans mangroves carbon absorption rated at 4 crore tonnes
In a study done by researchers at University of Calcutta, the mangrove forests of Sundarbans, which have an area of 2118 sq. km, store around 4.15 crore tonnes of CO2, This is valued at US$ 79 billion in the international carbon trading markets. The two year study has been funded by the Union Ministry of Earth Science to analyze the carbon sequestration efficiency of the Mangrove Forests. Above ground biomass was estimated for carbon content using laser beams. The study … Read More
Mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtles starts in Orissa Coast
Mass hatching of Olive Ridley turtles has started in the Orissa Coast. During the past two nights, around 4 lakh hatchlings have come out of 50,000 nests. Around 2,54,000 mother turtles have come to nest this year. The hatchlings so far experienced tough conditions for hatching, as light rains had hardened the top layer of the sand, making it hard for them to emerge from the nests. Hundreds of volunteers under the banner of the Rushikulya Sea Turtle Protection Committee … Read More
Sixteen dolphins found washed ashore dead in Puducherry (Pondicherry)
Sixteen long-nosed dolphins were found dead at three places on the Puducherry coast. This is the 20th incident in 16 months. Wildlife officials visited the spot and inspected the dead mammals. One carcass was sent to the Rajiv Gandhi College for Veterinary Sciences for detailed analysis. All the dead appeared to be members of a pod and it is suspected that this was a case of mass stranding. … Read More
Coastal Mangroves the Most Carbon Rich Forests on Earth
More carbon is said to be stored in Coastal Mangroves than any other forest ecosystem on Earth. The findings were published in Nature Geoscience and were the conclusions of a research team from the US Forest Service’s Southwest and Northern Research Stations, University of Helsinki and the Center for International Forestry Research. Per hectare, mangrove forests store four times more carbon than most tropical forests. The findings were based on their examination of 25 mangrove forests across the Indo Pacific … Read More
Conservation projects launched for Olive Ridley Turtles and Black Bucks in Ganjam District, Orissa
Two projects have been launched under the Natural Resources Conservation Outside Protected Areas (NRCOPA) scheme in Ganjam district. The Rushikulya River Mouth project has been launched for Olive Ridley Sea Turtle conservation, while the Bhetonai-Balipadar project has been launched to protect Black Bucks. The NRCOPA is a Central Government scheme for conservation of biodiversity through community-led efforts. The said projects will extend support to conservation efforts in Odisha and Madhya Pradesh by strengthening the capacity of communities to manage resources … Read More
Dead Dolphin Washes Ashore the Marina Beach in Chennai
A five-foot long dolphin weighing more than 150 kgs washed ashore the Marina beach in Chennai. It appeared to have died from serious head injuries. The range officer who examined the body said that it could have died due to an injury from a trawler. Supraja Dharini, the founder of an NGO called Tree foundation says that this is the third such incident in Chennai in the past three months. She said that in-depth studies must be carried out to … Read More
OPG Power’s plans for huge thermal plant on the Gujarat coast under scrutiny by MoEF
A massive thermal power plant planned on the Kutch coast in Gujarat continues to face pressures from the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF). OPG Power Gujarat Private Limited is behind the project, which threatens the sensitive coastal environment of Bhadreshwar. There are accusations that OPG Power did not carry out its obligations to hold public hearings, as well as violations of state government directives to not begin any activity until environmental clearance was obtained. There are also accusations that … Read More
Freeing sea turtle nesting beaches from Casuarina plantations – A case study from Tamil Nadu
When two powerful entities such as the World Bank and a State Government agency make an expensive ecological blunder, what are the chances that they can be persuaded to undo the damage? In the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, a massive coastal plantation project initiated by the two was about to permanently destroy sea turtle nesting grounds. Would a small group of conservationists be able to make them see sense? Shekar Dattatri recounts the untold story of a campaign … Read More
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