Progressing towards destruction

One of the world's smallest species of turtles is battling huge problems in a fight for survival.

Diversity and dynamism of its eco-system has made Orissa an idyllic habitat for many rare species of the world like the estuarine crocodile, fresh and brackish water terrapins, dolphins, and last but not the least, Olive Ridleys turtles, categorised as Schedule-I species at par with tigers and lions under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.Orissa boasts of the world's largest known rookery, the breeding and nesting ground of Olive Ridley sea turtle, Gahiramatha. According to statistics, every year nearly 80,000 turtles come to Gahirmatha beach for mass nesting. But in last winter, surprisingly, it dropped to just 10 to 20 thousand. "In last January, we had conducted a survey on the 35 km shoreline from Hukitola to Nasi Island of Gahirmatha and we found carcasses of at least 400 turtles on the beach”, said Bijay Kabi, director of Protection of Wild Animal (APOWA). An estimate made by the Greenpeace International reveals that the total turtle mortality for the entire state in 2008 is likely to be 12,000 plus.The reasons for this precipitous fall are many. Firstly, the threat posed by the fishing trawlers, which unwittingly entangle and kill turtles in their fishing nets. Secondly, predators like dogs and hyenas, destroy most of the turtle eggs even before they hatch. But the most serious threat to the future of turtles comes from the proposed Dhamra Port, on the northern bank of the mouth of Dhamra River, less than 15 kilometers from the Gahirmatha nesting beaches. A Greenpeace International-commissioned study by Dr SK Dutta and his team of scientists from North Orissa University unequivocally established that the port at Dhamra in Orissa would be an ecological blunder, causing irreversible destruction. Maybe, what's required here is development with deference to nature.

-Dhrutikam Mohanty