Goacom: Goanow November 2001

Documenting Goa's Bio-Diversity

A section of participants A national workshop on the "Coastal Bio-diversity of Goa State" was held at Panjim's Caritas Hall on October 15, to discuss ideas regarding the Coastal Bio-Diversity Action Plan, which forms a part of the National Bio-Diversity Strategy Action Plan, funded by the Minister of Environment & Forests, to document the country's biodiversity.

The Workshop, comanised by the Goa Foundation along with the Forest Department--the nodal agencies for Goa--discussed several topics affecting Goa's coast, particularly with reference to the Coastal Regulation Zone and beach tourism. Destructive and over fishing gears, coastal erosion, interstate fishing boundaries, implementation of improved traditional fish farming, estuaries and mangroves, need to prioritise the areas to declare as marine/coastal protected areas for conservation, etc. were the important aspects tackled by various experts. The Project Co-ordinator is Dr Nandakumar Kamat at the Goa level.

Project Co-ordinator Dr Nandkumar Kamat Dr Claude Alvares, of the Goa Foundation, told GoaNOW, "The delegates exchanged views to demarcate the priority and critical areas of ecological distress. This process has been going on for several months and it will be completed by November 15, 2001, after which we should be able to come out with a proper action plan for the protection of the bio-diversity of Goa in its various aspects."

Mr Ashish Kothari Excerpts from a small Interview with Ashish Kothari, Co-ordinator of the Technical and Policy Core Group of the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan.

What is this programme all about?
Ashish Kothari: This programme of the National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan is an attempt to get the voices of the different sectors-farmers, fisherfolk, adivasis, scientist, government officials, artists and all sorts of people of India--on what they feel and what they know of the biodiversity of India, and what it means to them in their own lives. From these voices and information, will put together a series of action plans, from local to national level, which will attempt to show a direction of how to protect the biodiversity and the livelihood of people.

When did the process begin?
AK: It started about two years ago and it will go on until the middle of the next year.

Which are the agencies involved?
AK: The implementing agency is the Ministry of Environment in the Central government. It is funded by the United Nations' Development Programme and the technical execution is being done by an NGO called Kalpavrikxya to which I belong, in association with the Technical Core Group. The administration is by another core group called Biotech Conservation. So, it is a multi-sectoral co-ordination.

As far as Goa is concerned...
AK: In Goa, it is the joint collaboration with the Goa Foundation, an NGO, and the Forest Department. The two are combined and they have a Steering Committee consisting of many different kinds of people from different sectors.

What is the response in Goa compared to other States involved in the programme?
AK: Actually, in Goa, I feel, the process is much more pro-active than in many other states. Goa is probably among the six or seven most active states in this whole programme.

Which are the active states?
AK: Karnataka, Assam, Mizoram, Punjab, etc. What, I feel, is good here is that every sector, including the Coast Guard, fisherfolk and a lot of scientists, NGOs and government officials of the Fisheries, Forest Departments, etc. have all been involved in the process. In that sense, it is truly a participatory process in Goa.

So, is the progress in Goa satisfactory?
AK: The final action plan will depend on the result, to which we are looking forward. The process is as important and there we are satisfied. But what comes out is equally important because it will be presented as the official document.

Other Environment-related Matters in Goa

Goa Pollution Control Board has been directed by the Union Ministry of Environment to implement a ban on the use of fire works and fire crackers between 10 pm and 6 am in the State during the on going Dussehra festival, forthcoming Diwali and other festivals in the State.
The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) has for the first time discovered a toxic algal bloom off Goa and suspects it to be the cause of fish kills of Canacona and other parts of the State. The NIO Scientists are in the process of finding out whether shellfish is affected the by the 'toxic algal bloom' phenomenon. Occurrence of this phenomenon which is the first off Goa coast, is known to cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in other ocean areas because of the toxins produced by the blooms. Toxins are accumulated by the shellfish, rendering it unsafe for human consumption for several weeks. Seafood other than shellfish (filter feeders) varieties would not be affected, scientists say.
By now it is no longer news when a small-time tribal farmer from the naturally forested hilly talukas of Sanguem or Quepem in South Goa complains of how his family's farming land has been tricked or taken over through connivance and bribery of the authorities by a member of the mining fraternity of Goa. (TARA NARAYAN in Herald)
The dreaded Salvinia weed which has choked the already shrunken Carambolim lake, continues to take its toll. Flocks of exotic migratory birds from Siberia and other countries which frequent the famous lake during winter, continue to dwindle in number, with this year being no exception.
Canacona residents have informed that there is large scale fish mortality in the coastal regions of the taluka. The reason for fish mortality is not yet known but some of the fisher folk suspect that it is caused by changes in the climatic conditions and temperature of sea water.
A store tank containing waste molasses of Penguin Alcohol burst at its plant at Srishthal, Canacona, on Tuesday morning creating nuisance in the Canacona Industrial Estate and surrounding paddy fields.
The Goenchea Ramponkarancho Ekvott has alleged that a member of the Velsao village panchayat was involved in removing about 15 truckloads of sand by using mechanized shovels.
Continuing mining activity within the catchment area of Selaulim irrigation project, which cost Rs.109 crore and took over a decade to be constructed, has raised about the health of the state's mega project.