The government has taken a number of important steps for conservation of marine species, Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Kirti Vardhan Singh informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. A network of protected areas across the Coastal States and Islands of the country under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, has been created for the conservation of marine species, an official release said quoting Singh.
It said 106 coastal and marine sites have been identified and prioritised as Important Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Areas (ICMBAs) to take care of marine species conservation. Many threatened marine species have been listed Schedule I and II of the Wild Life (Protection) Act 1972 according them protection against hunting.
The Ministry has amended Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, to empower Indian Coast Guards for entry, search, arrest and detention in case of contravention of provisions of the Act. The Ministry has released a National Marine Turtle Action Plan with the aim to conserve marine turtles and their habitats in India. It has also released ‘Marine Megafauna Stranding Management Guidelines’ in 2021 for management of stranding and entanglement of marine mega fauna.
The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019, promulgated under Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, has specific focus on conservation and management plans of Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs), like Mangroves, Seagrasses, Sand dunes, Corals and Coral reefs, Biologically active mudflats, Turtle nesting grounds, and Horseshoe crabs’ habitats.
The Ministry grants funds under the centrally-sponsored schemes to maritime states for the conservation of Corals and Mangroves. It provides financial assistance to States/UTs under the centrally-sponsored Scheme ‘Development of Wildlife habitats’ for conservation of wildlife and its habitat, including marine fauna.
The Ministry under the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority provided funding support for project for conservation of Dugongs and their habitats. The Government also provides financial assistances to Universities/Research Institutes through research projects that are aimed at conservation of marine species.
The Ministry is implementing a centrally sponsored scheme namely, National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems (NPCA), for conservation and management of identified wetlands (includes lakes) in the country on cost sharing basis between Central Government and respective State Governments/UTs. It has launched “Wetlands of India Portal” (indianwetlands.in) to facilitate knowledge sharing, information dissemination on wetland.
