April 12, 2013
SETHU PROJECT WILL WIPE OUT CORAL REEF: ZOOLOGICAL SURVEY
Friday, 12 April 2013 | Kumar Chellappan | CHENNAI
In line with the findings of the RK Pachauri Committee Report that the Sethusamudram Shipping Channel Project (SSCP) is neither ecologically nor environmentally sustainable, a study by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has found that the fragile coral reef colonies in Palk Bay face a “serious threat of extinction” due to developmental projects.
Though the report does not mention the developmental projects in question, it is clear that ZSI scientists have the 167 kilometre long SSCP in mind.
The Government of India has claimed that the channel linking Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar would offer a continuous navigation canal so that ships coming from the West Coast need not circumnavigate Sri Lanka to reach ports in Chennai, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam and Paradip and vice-versa. The Government claimed that the navigation time would come down by 24 hours, but this has been proved wrong by marine engineers, navigators and scientists.
What upset the scientific community along the East Coast of India was the threat posed by siltation due to dredging for the SSCP.Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar are regions known for their unique coral reefs and rich biodiversity. The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve is home to the world’s distinct coral colonies, sea grass, sea weed and mangrove forests.
According to K Venkataraman, Director, ZSI, developmental activities have killed the biodiversity in the region. The coral reefs were affected by the dredging being done for developmental projects. “The only developmental project in the region was the dredging carried out for constructing the SSCP. Though dredging has been stayed now by the Supreme Court following petitions challenging the SSCP, the initial dredging caused serious damage to the coral reefs in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve,” said a ZSI scientist.
In order to wean the fishermen away from the ecologically fragile Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve, marine biologists in the Centre For Advanced Studies in Marine Biology (CASMB), Porto Novo, Cuddalore had developed alternate livelihoods like sea grass and seaweed cultivation, caging and ranching of rare fish varieties. “In order to increase the population of fish along the seashore, we planted artificial mangroves along the Porto Novo coastline in the early 90s. The fish wealth including crabs and prawns increased by 50 per cent over the next ten years. But what is surprising is that these mangrove forests acted as a biological shield against the 2004 tsunami. The mammoth tidal waves could not penetrate the ‘bio fort’ formed by the thick growth of mangroves along Porto Novo,” Professor K Kathiresan, Director, CASMB, told The Pioneer.
Professor S Mohammed Raffi, marine biologist, said the residential areas behind the mangroves remained untouched by the sea waves.
"It taught us that tsunami waves could be blocked by mangrove forests and we launched a drive to plant mangrove forests along the coast,' said Prof Raffi. The roots of the mangroves are excellent binders of silt. "They trap soil and sediments. The bushy nature prevents entry of water and reduces the fury of the wind," said Prof Kathiresan.
The mangroves along Porto Novo and nearby Pichavaram saved thousands of families from the fury of the tsunami, but the Union Government's move to construct the SSCP could sound the death knell for the mangroves. "Siltation and discharge of sewage into the estuary and water bodies could wipe out the mangroves making the region vulnerable to future tsunami attacks," said Prof Raffi.
Significantly, the United Nations has recognised CASMB as the pioneers in mangrove forest breeding.
"Recently we trained scientists drawn out from 19 countries in the South Asian region about the nuances of mangroves. Scientists from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brunei and Vietnam attended the training programme on mangrove breeding. By the time they plant mangroves in their countries, our shoreline could end up as a barren land because of the pollution caused by developmental activities," he said.
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