Palk Bay Dugong Reserve

Sakshi Education

Tamil Nadu government has begun work to set up the first Dugong Conservation Reserve of India in the Palk Bay region. Dugongs are endangered species and are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act’s, 1972 Schedule 1.
Tamil Nadu’s Environment, Forests, and Climate Change Department accepted the concept note of Shekhar Kumar Niraj, the Chief Wildlife Warden, and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, for the Dugong Conservation Reserve’s creation.
He was directed to send a draft notification to obtain the Union environment ministry’s approval.
The size of the reserve will be spread over around 500 sq km and will be located in Palk Bay’s northern part from Adiramapattinam to Amapattinam.
For the first 5 years, Rs. 5 crore would be the initial cost for the reserve’s establishment.
There are plans to build enhanced seagrass beds and an international conservation center under the Climate Change Mission.
The dugong is a sirenian species found along the Indian coast. Dugongs are related to manatees and have a similar plump appearance to them, but they have a tail that looks like a dolphin’s fluke. Unlike manatees, which live in freshwater, dugongs are purely marine mammals. Dugongs are also known as Sea Cows. They graze, on seagrass, in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

Published date : 28 Feb 2022 05:58PM