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‘Rs. 1,000 given for turtle conservation’

BHUBANESWAR: Greenpeace India, an environmental pressure group, here on Friday alleged that the State government made budgetary allocation of paltry Rs. 1,000 for protection and conservation of endangered Olive Ridley turtles this year.

This budget head was created in 2008 in response to long pending demands from the State Wildlife Department and NGOs, it said.

“This is an indictment of the level of importance the State government attaches to its endangered sea turtles”, said Sanjiv Gopal, Oceans Campaign Manager, Greenpeace India in a statement on Friday.

He questioned, “What is the point in creating a special budget head if adequate resources are not provided to the Forest Department to fulfil its responsibilities?” According to a Greenpeace financial estimate in 2007, a sum of Rs. 70 lakh is required every year for effective sea turtle conservation activities by the Forest Department.

Quoting independent estimates, Greenpeace said 7,162 turtles were recorded dead along the Orissa coast from Chilika to Paradip in the 2008-09 season. “Mortality for the entire State is again likely to be in the region of 14,000-15,000, significantly higher than the official Forest Department figures,” the group apprehended.

In addition to providing resources to the Forest Department, it was also essential that the fast patrol boats deployed were well utilised to enforce the provisions of Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act (OMFRA), particularly to prevent trawlers from fishing within 5 km. of the coast, Greenpeace said.

It demanded that Department of Forests (Wildlife) should ensure inclusion of local NGOs in the monitoring of turtle mortalities, to ensure transparency and accuracy and commit to progressively reducing the annual turtle mortality over the next five seasons.

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