Two groups of islands are the first in India to make it to the
list of 50 global hope spots with significant wildlife and underwater
habitats
Only
one island in Lakshadweep is a marine protected area. In picture: an
aerial shot of the slick
formed by the coral spawning in Lakshadweep’s
coral reef (Photo: S Subburaman, Wildlife Trust of India)
Andaman and Nicobar Islands and
Lakshadweep
islands have recently been named as the new "hope spots" by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Mission Blue,
an organization involved in the study of oceans.
A hope spot is an area of an
ocean that needs special protection because of its wildlife and significant underwater habitats.
The two group of islands, considered extremely rich in marine
biodiversity, are the first places in India to have been added in the
list of 50 global 'hope spots'. Earlier, 13 hope spots had been
identified all around the world. The additional list of 31 new hope
spots was released by IUCN and Mission Blue on October 23.
Some of these areas are already designated as protected areas by the government while the others need special protection.
About 12 per cent of land around the world is under some form of
protection (as national parks, world heritage sites, monuments) while
less than one per cent of the oceans is protected. By identifying such
hope spots, IUCN wants to “scale up the marine protection necessary for
sustainable development of the ocean”.
“We have identified a number of critical areas that represent a real
hope to restore the health of our imperiled ocean,” IUCN said while
quoting Sylvia Earle, oceanographer and IUCN patron. “The ocean, as a
system and our life support, is in trouble and whatever we can do
whether it’s in our community, state or country, region, or in the high
seas, we should really respect what the ocean gives us,” Earle added.
Marine protected areas
Out of total 4,947 sq km area of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 1,510
sq km is protected under India's Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. There
are 105 protected areas in the islands, of which about 100 are marine
protected areas (MPAs). These cover more than 30 per cent of terrestrial
areas of islands and protect more than 40 per cent of the
available coastal habitats of the islands. However, in Lakshadweep
group of islands, Pitti (0.01 square kilometer) is the only island that
has MPA tag.
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