Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Kuppusamy, Sivakumar

Titel

Conservation Perspectives of Dugongs and Sea Turtles in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Ist Teil von

• Faunal Ecology and Conservation of the Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, p.357-373

Ort / Verlag

Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore

Link zum Volltext

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to several migratory marine species including the dugong and sea turtles. Despite the tremendous ecological and economic importance and the existence of a policy and regulatory framework, migratory marine species are under threat. Numerous direct and indirect pressures arising from different types of economic development and associated activities, climate change, etc. are having impacts on dugongs and sea turtles. Dugong distribution in islands is mainly governed by the availability of seagrass meadows that are smaller in size and highly fragmented. Fishing and tourism activities in their habitats need to be sustainably managed. Similarly, Andaman and Nicobar Islands are one of the most critical regions for sea turtles in the country especially for leatherback and hawksbill turtles. Increased egg predation by wild pigs, domestic and feral dogs, hunting and incidental capture of turtles and fishery-related mortality have been widely reported in the islands. The government of ANI has initiated several conservation measures to recover endangered sea turtles and dugongs in the islands with participations of all concerned stakeholders including local communities. It is believed that illegal capture of dugongs has been reduced in islands, and reporting of dugongs has also increased. Most importantly, more than ten dugongs have been saved from fishing entanglements and poaching, which are an indication of success of ongoing recovery programme. However, few more critical habitats of dugongs and other marine mammals need to be declared as marine protected areas to secure the future livelihoods of local communities. With a successful integrated participatory approach, the ongoing programme should continue in phases for the next 30 years for recovering the dwindling dugong populations and seagrass habitats in the country. It is important to have a seascape level planning to mainstream marine mammals’ conservation (including dugongs) into various production sectors especially tourism and fisheries in the South Andaman Important Marine Mammals Area (IMMA). The main objectives of the sea turtle conservation action plan of Andaman and Nicobar Islands should facilitate the prevention of man-made mortalities of four species of marine turtles that breed on and around islands and to monitor, protect and manage all nesting and breeding habitats of these four species in the island by 2025. There is a lot of scope to enhance the success rate of nests up to 90% with a turtle conservation planning especially protecting nests from these predators.