BackNo installations in Nicobar scrubfowl sanctuary: ministry
Environment min refuses nod to a project that entails setting up temporary structures in Tillachong
Premium(Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan said the project proposal has been rejected since the scrubfowl is not found anywhere else and it can’t stand such installations. )
New Delhi: Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan refused clearance for a project that entails setting up temporary structures for test-firing dummy missiles in Tillachong, where a sanctuary devoted to the Nicobar scrubfowl is located.
The proposal had come before the standing committee of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL).
“I rejected this proposal yesterday (Thursday). I agreed with the non-official members of the NBWL. I finally made up my mind because the megapode (scrubfowl) is not found anywhere else and it can’t stand such (an) installation," Natarajan told reporters on Friday. She was speaking on the occasion of the World Wildlife Week.
The Nicobar scrubfowl is endemic to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, although the 2004 tsunami wiped out much of the population of some of them.
The minister is chairperson of the standing committee of the board that’s empowered to decide on matters of construction inside protected areas. The board, set up under the Wildlife Protection Act, is headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and has 47 members, of which 32 are serving or retired government officials.
The others are non-official members belonging to institutions that work in the area of conservation, such as the World Wide Fund for Nature, and other organizations such as the Karnataka Medicinal Plant Association.
Mint had reported on 10 July that the ministry was considering proposals related to two sanctuaries on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, raising concerns among environmentalists. The two proposals were discussed by the standing committee on 13 June.
Natarajan’s decision was welcomed by Praveen Bhargav, a former member of the board and managing trustee of Wildlife First, a Bangalore-based non-governmental organization (NGO). He cautioned against future proposals.
“In future also, rehashed proposals should not be entertained. Both areas must be protected fully. We must insulate all important protected areas from such projects—defence and developmental—because that is the mandate of NBWL," he said.
The sanctuary houses endemic bird species such as the glossy swiftlet, the Nicobar sparrowhawk and the Andaman wood pigeon, apart from the Nicobar scrubfowl, said Prerna Bindra, a non-official member of the NBWL standing committee.
“Missile testing not only carries the risk of mortality to wildlife, but it would also lead to irreversible habitat damage in a hitherto undisturbed forest habitat," she said.
Local residents had written to the minister asking her to reject the proposal, said Asad Rahmani, director of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and a non-official member.
“The problem was that once we gave permission, who would monitor it. Also, what is the guarantee that once you give permission for a dummy test, they won’t ask for permission again," Rahmani said.
The minister also said on Friday that she wants “elephant corridors and habitats of biodiversity to become legal entities" under the Wildlife Protection Act. “We would like to bring further amendments (to the Act) to make these legal entities. We want them to be legal entities so that they can be protected".
The cabinet had on Thursday approved a few amendments to the Wildlife Protection Act.
Bindra said that elephant corridors are under severe threat and are getting fragmented by various ill-planned development projects.
“It is well-established that critically endangered mega-fauna like the tiger and elephant are wide-ranging species and cannot survive in the long-term in small, fragmented protected areas. Hence, connectivity through wildlife corridors is essential for their survival," she said.
Bhargav said this amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act should be introduced with the others that have been proposed. “This can’t be deferred and should be done now. Only this will ensure that corridors are designated and legally notified. If the decision has been taken then why should it be delayed?" he said.
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