Margao: As the public meeting over the draft Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) is drawing near, apart from village-level objections, objections have also been raised over the marking of turtle nesting sites in the state.
Cuncolim-based advocate Ashish Dessai said that there was not enough effort put into protecting turtle nesting sites.
“Galgibaga, Agonda, Morjim and Mandrem are notified as turtle nesting sites, the rarest species of turtles Olive Ridley nest on the beach stretches of Galgibaga and Agonda in the South and Morjim and Mandrem in the North. No effort seems to be made to protect the turtle nesting sites in the draft CZMP as per CRZ notification 2011, rather it seems authorities are ignoring the efforts of Centre for Environment Education (CEE Goa state office) which has put in their study into document ‘Sea turtle and habitat management plan’ for Mandrem, Morjim, Agonda and Galgibaga which is uploaded on government website,” said Dessai.
He further added that noisy surroundings, lights and other activities around turtle nesting sites are affecting and endangering these particular species to the point where the forest department has to shift their eggs to an ‘interpretation centre’ so that they are protected during the incubation period.
“The draft notification proposed to be notified has to be in line with the framework of the guidelines set by the MoEFF. The draft CZMP defeats the very purpose of protection of the turtle nesting sites in Goa as the draft report only shows the shacks management and the penalty but fails to include that the turtle nesting site shall be considered as eco-sensitive and for all legal purpose the turtle nesting site is considered as CRZ-1 irrespective of being CRZ2, CRZ3 and CRZ4 and that any kind of activity shall not be allowed at the turtle-nesting sites as it may result in collapse of entire marine ecosystem,” said Dessai.