Lok Sabha Question No. 2337 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-18
Subject: Conservation of Marine Species
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Durga Das Uikey, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, B. Y. Raghavendra, Unmesh Bhaiyyasaheb Patil, Sujay Radhakrishna Vikhepatil, Jagdambika Pal, Rita Bahuguna Joshi, Krishna Pal Singh Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2337

TO BE ANSWERED ON 18.12.2023

## Conservation of Marine Species

## 2337.   DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI DURGA DAS (D.D.) UIKEY:

DR. HEENA VIJAYKUMAR GAVIT:

SHRI B.Y. RAGHAVENDRA:

SHRI UNMESH BHAIYYASAHEB PATIL:

DR. SUJAY RADHAKRISHNA VIKHEPATIL:

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL:

PROF. RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI:

DR. KRISHANPAL SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the steps taken by the Government for conservation of marine species;
- (b) whether  the  Government  provides  financial  assistance  for  the  protection  of  marine species; and
- (c) the steps taken to prevent marine species deaths caused by the stranding of abandoned fishing nets and collisions with ship motors, particularly in Andhra Pradesh?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE

(SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (c) In  order  to  conserve  marine  species,  Government  of  India  has  notified  130 Marine  Protected  Areas  across  the  Coastal  States  and  Islands;  in  addition  106  coastal  and marine sites have been identified and prioritized as Important Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Areas (ICMBAs) to take care of marine species conservation.

Many threatened marine species  have  been  listed  as  Scheduled  animals  in  Indian  Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Currently, the Government of India has prioritized some of the rare and threatened  marine  species  such  as  the  marine  turtles  (all  5  species),  humpback  whale  and Dugong for assessing country  wide population status  and  monitoring  under  the  scheme  of Integrated  Development  of  Wildlife  Habitat  (IDWH).  Under  the  Endangered  Species Recovery Program (ESRP), the marine mammal Dugong has received special attention with a country  wide  effort  towards  conservation  of  Dugongs  and  their  habitat  conservation  and about 450 sq km area in the Palk Bay has been declared as Dugong Conservation Reserve to conservation of Dugongs and seagrass associated marine species.

The Ministry has released a National Marine Turtle Action Plan with the aim to conserve marine turtles and their habitats in India. In addition, under the Project Dolphin, Ministry is expending  to  include  marine  dolphins  for  species  monitoring  and  conservation  of  marine biodiversity. Also, more species including marine invertebrate will be added for population monitoring/ recovering under the IDWH or Endangered Species Recovery programme.

The  Coastal  Regulation  Zone  (CRZ)  Notification,  2019,  promulgated  under  Environment (Protection)  Act  1986,  has  specific  focus  on  conservation  and  management  plans  of Ecologically  Sensitive  Areas  (ESAs),  like  Mangroves,  Seagrasses,  Sand  dunes,  Corals  and Coral  reefs,  Biologically  active  mudflats,  Turtle  nesting  grounds,  and  Horse  shoe  crabs' habitats  and  prohibit  developmental  activities  and  disposal  of  wastes  in  the  fragile  coastal ecosystems.

The Biological Diversity Act of India, 2002, as amended and the Biological Diversity Rules 2004,  and  the  guidelines  thereof  ensure  the  protection  and  conservation  of  biodiversity (including  the  marine  species),  sustainable  use  and  equitable  sharing  of  its  components, Intellectual Property Rights, etc.,

Following  financial  assistances  are  provided  for  the  protection  of  marine  species  in  the country:

- i. Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEFCC)  is  granting  funds under the centrally sponsored schemes to maritime States for the conservation of Corals and Mangroves.
- ii. Project  Dolphin  is  the  Government  initiative  to  conserve  both  oceanic  and  riverine dolphin species launched in 2021.
- iii. In  order  to  conserve  and  manage  the  declining  populations  of  Dugongs  in  India,  the MoEFCC under the Government of India constituted a 'Task Force for Conservation of Dugongs' to look into the entire  gamut  of issues  related to  conservation of  Dugongs and implementation of the 'UNEP/CMS Dugong MoU' in India and also to facilitate the country  to  act  as  the  leading  nation  in  the  South  Asia  Sub-region  with  respect  to Dugong conservation.
- iv. The Ministry under the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) funds the conservation of Dugongs and their habitats in India.
- v. The Ministry funds the monitoring and conservation of marine turtles, marine dolphins and humpback whale under the PAN India: Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitat (IDWH) scheme.
- vi. The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE), an attached office of Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES)  is  mandated  with  the  management  strategies development for marine living resources through ecosystem monitoring and modelling activities. Based on 24 years of survey studies, it has generated an extensive knowledge base  on  the  biodiversity  aspects  within  India's  Exclusive  Economic  Zone  including hotspots for conservation.
- vii. CMLRE  is  implementing  a  national  R&D  programme  on  Marine  Living  Resources (MLR) with an inbuilt component on  Societal  Services  to support the fisher  folks of Lakshadweep Islands. The societal services initiative intends to enhance the ornamental and baitfish stocks in the wild. Under the program, CMLRE has organised a series of hands on trainings  on 'Marine ornamental fish breeding and rearing at Lakshadweep Islands'.
- viii. The Government also provides financial assistances to Universities / Research Institutes through research projects that are aimed at conservation of marine species.

The Ministry has released 'Marine Megafauna Stranding Management Guidelines' in 2021 for  actions  to  be  taken  during  stranding  and  entanglement  events  as  well  as  to  improve coordination  between  various  stakeholders  and  better  management  for  these  events.  In Andhra  Pradesh,  the  State  Forest  Department  teams  are  in  place  to  monitor  stranding  and cause  of  deaths  through  necropsies  on  dead  marine  animals.  Efforts  have  been  taken  for conducting awareness drives to educate the local community,  fishermen, and other stakeholders  about  the  impact  of  abandoned  fishing  nets  and  ship  collisions  on  marine species. Turtle Excluding Device (TED) has been installed in the fishing trawlers to prevent the by-catch of turtles.

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