The Nadu government has begun to line up India’s primary Dugong Conservation Reserve within the Palk Bay region.
Highlights
Dugongs are species protected under the Wildlife Protection Act’s, 1972 Schedule 1.
The Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Shekhar Kumar Niraj, submitted an idea note for the Dugong Conservation Reserve. Tamil Nadu’s Environment accepted Forests and Climate-change”>Climate Change Department.
He was told to file a draught notification to the Union Ministry of Environment for approval.
The reserve size will cover around 500 sq km and can be established in Palk Bay’s north from Adiramapattinam to Amapattinam.
For the next 5 years, Rs 5 crore would be the initial cost for the reserve’s establishment.
There are plans to create enhanced seagrass beds and a world conservation center under the global climate change Mission.
Dugong
The dugong is a sirenian species found along the Indian coast.
Dugongs are associated with manatees and have an identical plump appearance, but they need a tail that appears sort of a dolphin’s fluke.
Unlike manatees, which sleep in freshwater, dugongs are purely marine mammals.
Dugongs also are referred to as Sea Cows.
They graze, on seagrass, in shallow coastal waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans.