38 areas in marine protection network
With the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CoBD) committed to developing a global network of marine-protected areas (MPA), the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has so far placed 38 areas in the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal under this category.
The idea of creating MPAs is to protect the ocean ecosystems which are reaching tipping points. The Gulf of Mannar located in the south eastern part of Tamil Nadu has been placed in this category because it harbours nearly 3,600 marine organisms.
The NGO Greenpeace has been campaigning for a global network of marine reserves covering 40 per cent of the world’s ocean as these will help restrict not only fishing but also mineral and hydrocarbon extraction.
A team of scientists, led by marine conservation biologist Callum Roberts, have used advanced computer modelling to generate a network of reserve areas that would cover more than 40 per cent of the ocean, including parts of the Bay of Bengal.
But other scientists question whether MPAs can be given legal protection since many are extremely small in size.
Some MPAs in the Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal are less than 1 sq. km.
The problem is made more complex because 70 per cent of global oceans lie beyond state jurisdiction. Adam Jadhav’s report “Identifying Conservation Needs in India’s Offshore Waters” highlights that the waters up to 200 nautical miles from India’s coastline fall within India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
This area cover two million square kilometres of ocean over which India has both economic and environmental responsibilities.
The ministry of environment and forests’ additional secretary M.F. Farooqui highlighted at the release of this report that as India prepared to host the CoBD that “the issue of marine conservation in areas beyond territorial water will be in the spotlight”.
Areeba Hamid, a campaigner with Greenpeace, said, “This is India’s chance to safeguard its oceans before it is too late. The forthcoming CoBD conference will provide an excellent opportunity for India to start a comprehensive process of identifying and protecting key areas within its own EEZ.”
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