India’s first dugong conservation reserve

India’s first dugong conservation reserve

Part of: GS Prelims and GS- III –  Environment

Context The Government of Tamil Nadu will set up India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Palk Bay Dugong.

About the Conservation Reserve

• The Conservation Reserve will cover an area of 500kms.
• The proposed conservation area has the highest concentration of dugongs in the country.
• The reserve will span the northern part of the Palk Bay from Adirampattinam to Amapattinam.
• AS part of the CAMPA-Dugong Recovery Project, various surveys were conducted in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar, from November 2016 to March 2019.
• Gulf of Mannar is a shallow bay area between the south eastern end of Tamil Nadu and western Sri Lanka.

About Dugongs

• The dugong , also called the sea cow, is a herbivorous mammal. 
• It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae.
• The dugong is strictly a marine mammal.
• They graze on seagrass and come to the surface to breathe.
• They are found in over 30 countries and in India are seen in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, Palk Bay, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
• According to Wildlife Institute of India (WII) estimates, only 200-250 Dugongs are left in the wild, of which 150 are found in the Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu.

• Threats: 

• • The loss of seagrass habitats

• • water pollution

• • degradation of the coastal ecosystem due to developmental activities

• • accidental entanglement in fishing nets 

• • collision with boats, trawlers.

• Conservation status

• • IUCN- Vulnerable

• • CITES: Appendix I

• • Wild (Life) Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
• The Government of India is also a signatory to the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) since 1983 where it has signed non-legally binding Memorandums of Understanding on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016). 
• Proper conservation is the only way to save dugongs from extinction.