A key clearance has been given to a bauxite and marl mining project in Gujarat’s Devbhumi Dwarka district, nearly 1.6 and six kilometres from India’s first marine wildlife sanctuary and first marine national park, respectively, on the Gulf of Kachchh’s southern shore.
While the marine wildlife sanctuary (spread over 458 square kilometre) was established in 1980, the marine national park (spanning 168 square kilometre) was created two years later to protect and conserve marine flora and fauna.
According to Gujarat’s forest and environment department, a complex coral reef ecosystem and extensive mangroves dominate the seascape of the marine park’s shallow water, and the eco-system hosts diverse species.
Mining has been proposed to take place at the Mevasa Block in an area spanning over five hectares (ha). The project was recommended for grant of environmental clearance (EC) by the expert appraisal committee (EAC) of the environment ministry’s in its meeting on July 29.
The recommendation was based on several conditions. For example, the EAC said that the project proponent ‘L and S Company’ had to “follow up” with Gujarat’s forest department for approval of the wildlife conservation plan.
It also added that the project proponent would need to take appropriate interventions to minimise stress conditions for wild animals and to avoid man-animal conflict, according to the minutes of the meeting.
Located in the inter-tidal zone along the Jamnagar coasts and islands, the marine sanctuary and the marine park, according to the project’s environment impact assessment (EIA) report, have a world similar to “a large corporation and marked by interdependent relationships between the various life-forms”.
The marine park hosts more than 49 species of hard corals, 23 species of soft corals, 70 species of sponges, 421 species of fish, 27 species of prawns, 30 species of crabs, 172 species of birds, six species of mangroves and three species of sea turtle, etc., said the state forest and environment department.
The EIA report highlighted that the marine park is strategically located along major bird migration routes, and is “blessed” with a wide tidal range and nutrients.
“During winter, a legion of waders, such as flamingos, sandpipers, plovers, can be spotted in the park,” it added.
The report noted that as the mining lease area is located 1.6 kilometres from the marine sanctuary and about 6 kilometres from the marine park, the “distance itself acts as a natural physical barrier” from the eco-systems.
It also added that the project’s impacts on key habitat elements will occur on a local scale, but on a regional scale, they would not be “critical” for the life cycle needs of the species observed or expected.
