The Coast Guard’s proposal to install a radar on the tiny island of
Narcondam in the Andaman and Nicobar cluster threatens to wipe out the
last of the 350 endangered Narcondam Hornbills, which are indigenous to
the island.
Categorised as endangered in the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) Red List of threatened species this year, Aceros narcondami, exclusively found in the lush wildlife sanctuary of Narcondam, has been struggling to survive.
In India it is listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act.
Studies by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History
(SACON) suggest that the population of this endangered species is on the
decline, making it vulnerable to extinction and in need of the highest
possible protection.
The proposal for the radar and diesel power supply source installation
came up before a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National Board
of Wildlife on June 13 where conservationists like M. D. Madhusudan of
Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF) pitched for its rejection for the
dangers it posed to the survival of the bird and to the fragile island
ecosystem. After a field visit, the committee, headed by Director of the
Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Asad R. Rahmani, recommended its
abandonment. Bird watchers wondered why the Coast Guard was insisting on
radar in an eco-sensitive location when there were other alternative
sites like the Landfall Island.
In an allout effort to save the bird and pressure the Central government
to abandon the ‘ill-advised’ proposal, conservationists have stepped up
their campaign. Conservation India has come up with a short movie by
wildlife film maker Shekar Dattatri.
Letter to Environment Minister
In a letter to the Minister of State for Environment and Forests,
Jayanthi Natarajan, Divya Mudappa, T. R. Shankar Raman and Aparjita
Dutta of the NCF have expressed serious concern. Of the 350 hornbills,
only 161 to 185 (46 to 53 per cent) are mature breeding birds, with only
80 to 90 possible pairs. This is one of the reasons why their global
threat status has spiked, they said quoting the SACON study.
Disputing the Coast Guard’s contention that the installation involved
only 0.6736 hectares as “false and misleading”, they said 20 hectares
would be directly affected, while 400 hectares or 60 per cent of the
island area would be affected indirectly.
As the site for the radar was atop a hillock in the dense forest, access
for its installation and regular maintenance would become important and
a two kilometre road would have to cut through the virgin forest. This
would mean cutting an unspecified number of trees that would not only
affect the bird’s feeding, nesting and roosting but loss of the entire
habitat, the NCF said.
Already a police outpost of 30 personnel has resulted in a loss of 50
acres and continuous disturbance, they said adding that construction of
roads and their maintenance could also lead to great instability as
Narcondam is a volcanic island with ash beds, loose rocks and soil.
Regular maintenance would invariably lead to further disturbance, erosion and spread of invasive alien species, the NCF warned.
