The Standing Committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) has approved oil and gas exploratory drilling in the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ) of Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam. This decision, taken during the 81st meeting of the committee, has raised questions about balancing energy development with the need to preserve one of India’s most unique wildlife habitats.
The project, proposed by an oil exploration company, spans 4.4998 hectares, including a 1.44-hectare well pad and a 3.0598-hectare access road in the AA-ONHP-2017/4 block. The site is located 13 kilometres from the sanctuary, home to the endangered Hoolock gibbon and six other primate species. The sanctuary itself covers 20.98 square kilometres, with its ESZ extending over 264.92 square kilometres to ensure connectivity with adjacent forested areas in Assam and Nagaland.
The Hollongapar Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, named after the country's only ape species, the Hoolock gibbon, is a vital refuge for biodiversity. It provides critical forest corridors that connect to the Dissoi Valley Reserve Forest and habitats in Nagaland, underscoring its ecological importance.
A site inspection conducted on November 15, 2024, by representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Wildlife Institute of India (WII), and Assam’s Forest Department concluded that exploratory drilling would have limited immediate environmental impact. However, they strongly opposed commercial drilling within the ESZ.
“The sanctuary is an important habitat of the Hoolock gibbon. The committee noticed that the exploratory drilling may not cause much damage to the area. However, commercial drilling may not be allowed. The user agency has given an undertaking that they would not carry out commercial drilling at the site,” the site inspection report stated.
The project proponents explained that the exploratory drilling at the Hollongapar sanctuary was necessitated by results from seismic mapping of the entire basin and is strictly for the purpose of discovering hydrocarbon reserves in the area. Any proposal for extraction of hydrocarbon reserves discovered would be confined to sites outside the ESZ of the sanctuary.
The user agency assured the committee that the activity is solely for exploratory purposes to identify potential hydrocarbon reserves. They further stated that any extraction, if hydrocarbons are found, would occur outside the ESZ and that no hazardous substances would be used during operations.
The NBWL has imposed several stringent conditions to ensure environmental safeguards. These include the installation of real-time digital surveillance systems to monitor operations, submission of detailed operational plans to regulatory bodies before commencement, minimal tree felling, and strict pollution control measures. Additionally, oil or gas extraction within the ESZ is explicitly prohibited, even if reserves are discovered.
This was first published on the website of EastMojo. Read the original article here