Union government developing a policy to conserve the marine turtle population
India will develop a policy to deal with stranded marine species, like the Olive Ridley turtle Photo: Wikimedia Commons India is developing a policy to deal with marine species that frequently get stranded on shores, said the country's delegation to the 13th Conference of Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Environment Programme's Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
Frequently, marine species which get stranded on the shores can't go back, Soumitra Dasgupta, inspector general (wildlife) at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) said on February 18, 2020.
"The policy will help identify the hotspots where marine stranding is taking place. Once that is done, we will deploy a Rapid Response Team along with veterinary and medical facilities to treat these species and put them back in water,” Dasgupta added.
India will also adopt an internationally recognised standard operating procedure with slight modifications to suit the country’s needs.
A marine mammal survey will also be undertaken at a cost of Rs 5 crore.
“The survey will be done with the help of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute. We have already asked for a funding of Rs 5 crore to under take this project,” Dasgupta said at the ongoing CoP summit at Gujarat's Gandhinagar.The survey will be carried out along both the coasts of the country.
The organisations will map marine resources and share this information with the MOEF&CC.
This will help in finalisation of data along with ways to manage the country’s marine resources, Dasgupta said.
The Indian government is developing a policy to conserve the marine turtle population as well.
“We will also take the Indo-Pacific Ocean Initiative with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia Summit countries. Under that we will conserve the Marine Turtle population and its habitat,” Dasgupta said.
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