According to a report in the ‘The Hindu’, at least three key nesting beaches of the Giant Leatherback turtle — two on Little Andaman Island and one on Great Nicobar Island — are under threat due to mega “development” plans announced in recent months.
- NITI Aayog’s tourism vision for Little Andaman and the proposal for a mega-shipment port at Galathea Bay on Great Nicobar Island are included in those mega development plans.
- The Giant Leatherback turtle is the largest of the seven species of sea turtles on the Earth.
- It is also the most long-ranging sea turtle.
- Leatherbacks are found in all oceans except the Arctic and the Antarctic.
- Within the Indian Ocean, they nest only in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
- The populations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands could be among the most important colonies of the Leatherback globally.
- Leatherbacks are also listed in Schedule I of India’s Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, according it the highest legal protection.
(Source: The Hindu)
