Coral reefs facing threat from pollution, dredging and blast fishing

A swelling population, land use change, unscientific waste disposal, mining of corals, coastal erosion, and unregulated construction are exerting pressure on the Lakshadweep islands, one of the most sensitive and fragile coastal environments in the country.

With a forest cover 47.3 per cent of its total geographical area — more than double the national average of 21 per cent — Sikkim is India’s greenest State, official data shows.

The Unesco has designated Nicobar Islands as a world biosphere reserve under its ‘Man and the Biosphere Programme’.

Seshachalam hills, home to a variety of plants and animals, reptiles and amphibians, have proved again to be rich in biodiversity, with the recent sighting of a rare poisonous spider after a gap of 113 years in India at the foothills of Tirumala.

The spider belonging to the genus poecilotheria is known to be native to India and Sri Lanka, of which eight species are found in India and seven in Sri Lanka. While taking inventory of the Seshachalam Biosphere reserve spread across Chittoor and Kadapa districts of Andhra Pradesh, officials of the Seshachalam Biodiversity Lab attached to Tirupati Wildlife Management Circle sighted a dead specimen of Theraphosid spider, a variety listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as ‘critically endangered.’

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention. Mr. Kalidasan pointed out that during 2007, eight to 12 tigers were found in the area. Organisations such as World Wide Fund for Nature, World Wildlife Fund and Wildlife Trust of India confirmed the tiger existence through various studies

Tiger Reserve status accorded for the 1.40 lakh hectares of Sathyamangalam with 90,000 hectares as core zone is a shot in the arm for conservation of rare flora and fauna besides combating the pressures of poaching as the Sathyamangalam valley is on the State border.

Welcoming the decision of the Union Government, president of Osai (an NGO involved in conservation) K. Kalidasan said that the status will go a long way in getting the required funds and undivided attention.

A recent study taken up by a team of researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), Chennai, brought to light the serious threat of extinction the coral reef colonies and mangrove forests in the Palk Bay are facing. At present, only two per cent of the coral reefs survive in the area.

Global warming, siltation, release of untreated raw sewage into the water bodies and overgrowth of algae were stated to be the three important reasons for the possible disappearance of coral colonies and its associated organisms from the Palk Bay area.

Many countries do their best to preserve the diversity of their flora and fauna. However, the Maldives have gone even further.