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MAHARASHTRA MANGROVE CELL APPOINTS CSIR-NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY

UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS | MAHARASHTRA MANGROVE CELL APPOINTS CSIR-NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY (NIO) TO IDENTIFY SITES FOR RESTORATION OF CORALS | 13TH JUNE | THE HINDU

/ June, 2022, UPSC Daily Current Affairs

SYLLABUS SECTION: GS III (ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY)

WHY IN THE NEWS?

The state of Maharashtra Mangrove Cell Appoints CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to conduct a baseline study to identify potential sites for the restoration of corals.

Recently, in a bid to record and identify stressed coral zones along the Maharashtra coastline.

As well as the reasons that are stressing the ecosystems,

MORE DETAILS:

  • This appointment was made under the India–United Nations Development Programme-Green Climate Fund (GOI-UNDP-GCF).
  • The project titled ‘Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities
  • The goal of this one-year project is to identify and record stressed coral zones.
  • Highlight the causes that are stressing the ecosystem, and strive to reduce stressors.
  • It will also look for suitable particular recipient sites for coral restoration in sub-tidal regions along the Maharashtra coast.
  • It will also look for prospective donor sites for restoration along the state coast and on other Indian reefs in MAHARASHTRA MANGROVE CELL APPOINTS CSIR-NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY.

CORALS:

  • They are invertebrate animals belonging to Cnidaria and live in a symbiotic relationship with algae zooxanthellae.
  • Zooxanthellae provide coral polyps with different colours and food. In return, they receive a protected environment and the nutrients they need to carry out photosynthesis.
  • Coral reefs also act as ‘wave breaks’ between the sea and the coastline and minimize the impact of coastal erosion.
  • In India, they garner the same protection as a tiger or elephant under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972.
  • The Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, the Gulf of Kutch, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Lakshadweep islands have the major reef formations in India.
THREAT TO CORALS:
CORAL CULTIVATION AND CONSERVATION PROJECTS:

·         In Maharashtra’s three-year-long Sindhudurg project, corals were cultivate and then left on ocean beds at a depth suitable for their growth.

Ø  Under coral cultivation fragments of corals were taken and attach to concrete frames with the help of nylon threads.

·         In a project in the Andaman Islands since 2017, ReefWatch Marine Conservation has transplant coral fragments onto nine artificial structures totalling a 20 square metre area.

Read more: UPSC CURRENT AFFAIRS

SOURCE: INDIAN EXPRESS