The unheard cries of the Archipelago: Denizens of the Little Andaman under threat.

Separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Bay of Bengal to its West and from the Malaysian-Indonesian region by the Andaman Sea to its East, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is a sprawling group of forested islands. Occupying 0.25% of the geographical area of India, this archipelago comprises 572 islands, 80% of which is blanketed in lush pristine forests. Spread across an area of 8293 sq. km with a coastline of 1962 km, these islands are home to over 9,130 animal species occupying a plethora of habitats, of which 1,032 (11.30%) species are endemic to these islands. This level of endemism is a result of prolonged periods of isolation from the mainland supported by a myriad of habitats such as mangrove swamps, evergreen rainforests, coral reefs, and seagrass beds.

Leatherback turtles, Dermochelys coriacea, belong to the order Chelonia of class Reptilia. They are the largest of seven species of sea turtles found in our oceans, capable of growing to lengths of about 4–6 feet, with the maximum length recorded at 10 feet. They can weigh up to 1000 kilograms, subsisting merely on jellyfish. Unlike other sea turtles with a hard shell (or carapace), the leatherbacks have a thin and rubbery but tough shell that has a ‘leathery’ appearance, to which they owe their name. Excluding the Antarctic and the Arctic oceans, they can be found swimming across every other ocean, thus having the widest distribution range for any sea turtle.

The white-sand beaches along the meandering linear coastline of Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the only home of the leatherbacks in India, and together with Sri Lanka, they provide the two major nesting grounds for these turtles in Southeast Asia. The first nesting population of leatherback turtles on the island was observed in 1979 and since then, the islands have become an integral part of the survival and conservation of the species.

The Leatherback turtle has been listed under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972 which provides it with the highest protection from any form of illegal activity. However, poaching, hunting by dogs and humans, incidental bycatch, sand mining activities, and land degradation, along with the island’s proneness to extreme seismic events pose a serious challenge to their survival and threatens to push them to the brink of extinction.

The 2004 tsunami off the coast of Sumatra severely battered the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, altering the landscape and destroying major nesting sites of the turtles. In 2008, several institutes such as the Dakshin Foundation; Madras Crocodile Bank Trust; Andaman Nicobar Environment Team (ANET); Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; and the Department of Environment and Forests, Andaman & Nicobar Islands initiated a collaboration to monitor and save the remaining populations of the turtle species on the islands. Since then, 100 nesting females have been radio-tagged for identification purposes and monitored for information on their breeding behavior on the West and South Bay of Little Andaman Islands, which represent the nesting sites for Leatherbacks in the region. Added to this, 10 female turtles have been successfully tagged with satellite transmitters to collect data on their migratory patterns

Since the inception of the collaboration, there has been much progress in understanding these long-lived sea reptilians. Globally, their numbers have been increasing or have been stable; data from the South and West Bay present a recovering population of leatherbacks since the 2004 disaster. However, scientists and researchers warn that there is a great deal of information yet to be unearthed and recommend long-term studies to investigate the turtles’ life history, behavior, and ecology.

Andaman and Nicobar under threat?

The island group has long been recognized for its key role in geopolitics and strategic importance due to its location and natural resources. Using this as leverage, the Government of India has not hesitated to prioritize developmental activities on the island. A recent, 58-page undated ‘Vision Document’ was produced by the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog, a think tank of the Government of India, for the supposed “holistic and sustainable” development of the islands. It has come as disconcerting news to conservationists and wildlife biologists alike. The goal is to “open” and transform Little Andaman to the likeness of their competitors- Singapore, Thailand and Phuket in the tourism, trade and commerce sector.

As envisaged in the document, the new Mega-city needs 240 sq. km (35%) of Andaman’s land, for which the document proposes de-reserving 32% of the reserved forest and de-notifying 31% of the tribal reserve. Without taking into account the ecological fragility, rare wildlife, geographical vulnerability to seismic activities, the rights of the indigenous people, and the Onge tribal community, the proposed document serves a death blow to the ecological balance and the cultural richness of the island. It also goes on to suggest that the tribal communities will be relocated to other parts of the island if they impede the proposed activities.

Beginning of the end for leatherbacks in India?

Anthropogenic activities directly or indirectly impact ecology and evolutionary processes across the globe. Leatherback turtles migrate between their nesting and feeding grounds, traversing over 10,000 km, returning to the exact location that they left from. Two sites on the Little Andaman Islands and one site, Galathea Bay on the Great Nicobar have been identified as the largest nesting grounds for the Leatherbacks. Recent de-notification of the Galathea Wildlife Sanctuary for the establishment of a transshipment port worth ₹12,000 crores has alarmed environmentalists and conservationists and triggered uproar across social media.

Will this be the end of a crucial nesting site for Leatherbacks in India? If the proposed activity is authorized, then possibly yes, as it will only wreak havoc on the environment and exacerbate climate-related issues in this ecologically sensitive area.

Sources:

1. Ghosh. S, 2018. What makes the Andaman and Nicobar Islands home to so many endemic species? A book finds out. Scroll.in (March 2018) https://scroll.in/article/871449/what-makes-the-andaman-and-nicobar-islands-home-to-so-many-endemic-species-a-book-finds-out

2. Thomas. R, 2021. Leatherback turtles under threat as government considers ‘development’ in Little Andaman. Mongabay (April 2021) https://india.mongabay.com/2021/04/leatherback-turtles-under-threat-as-government-considers-development-in-little-andamans/

3. Sekhsaria. P, 2021. NITI Aayog vision for Great Nicobar ignores tribal, ecological concerns. The Hindu (March 2021) https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/niti-aayog-vision-for-great-nicobar-ignores-tribal-ecological-concerns/article34120093.ece

4. Sekhsaria. P, 2021. NITI Aayog’s megacity plan for Little Andaman alarms conservationists. The Hindu (February 2021) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/financial-tourist-complex-on-little-andaman-a-bullet-through-an-islands-heart/article33710255.ece

5. Sekhsaria. P, 2021. Leatherback nesting sites could be overrun by Andamans project. The Hindu (February 2021) https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/leatherback-nesting-sites-could-be-overrun-by-andamans-project/article33845010.ece

6. Swaminathan, A., N. Namboothri and K. Shanker. 2019. Tracking leatherback turtles from Little Andaman Island. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 29: 8–10.

7. Swaminathan, A., S. Thesorow, S. Watha, M. Manoharakrishnan, N. Namboothri and M. Chandi. 2017. Current status and distribution of threatened leatherback turtles and their nesting beaches in the Nicobar group of islands. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 25:

8. Namboothri, N., A. Swaminathan and K. Shanker. 2012. Post- nesting migratory routes of leatherback turtles from Little Andaman Island. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 16: 21–23.

9.  Swaminathan, A., N. Namboothri and K. Shanker. 2011. Post-tsunami status of leatherback turtle nesting at Little Andaman Island. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 14: 5–10.

10. https://www.conserveturtles.org/information-about-sea-turtles-leatherback-sea-turtle/