What is in Great Nicobar, site of NITI Aayog’s mega project?

What is in Great Nicobar, site of NITI Aayog’s mega project?

Sub: Polity

Sec: Species in news

Great Nicobar: Location and Environment

• Great Nicobar is the southernmost tip of India, part of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago with over 600 islands.
• It is hilly, covered with lush rainforests, and receives about 3,500 mm of annual rainfall.
• The island hosts endangered and endemic species like the giant leatherback turtle, Nicobar megapode, Great Nicobar crake, Nicobar crab-eating macaque, and Nicobar tree shrew.
• It has an area of 910 sq km with mangroves and Pandan forests along its coast.

Giant leatherback turtle	It is the largest turtle in the world. It is the only species of sea turtle that lacks scales and a hard shell. They are named for their tough rubbery skin and have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs. These turtles are highly migratory and can swim over 10,000 miles a year between nesting and foraging grounds. They are also accomplished divers with the deepest recorded dive reaching nearly 4,000 feet deeper than most marine mammals. It has a unique thermoregulatory adaptation that allows them to maintain core body temperatures at extremely cold depths. Distribution: It is found in every ocean except the Arctic and Antarctic. They have the widest global distribution of any reptile, with nesting mainly on tropical or subtropical beaches. Conservation status IUCN: Endangered CITES: Appendix I
Nicobar megapode	The Nicobar megapode or Nicobar scrubfowl (Megapodius nicobariensis) is a megapode found in some of the Nicobar Islands (India). Like other megapode relatives, it builds a large mound nest with soil and vegetation, with the eggs hatched by the heat produced by decomposition. The Nicobar Islands are on the edge of the distribution of megapodes, well separated from the nearest ranges of other megapode species. Being restricted to small islands and threatened by hunting, the species is vulnerable to extinction. The 2004 tsunami is believed to have wiped out populations on some islands and reduced populations on several others.
Great Nicobar crake	Usually found near water bodies, the Great Nicobar Crake is a thick and short bird, with heavy legs and moderately longer toes and short claws. It has a moderately long neck and a short tail. The presence of a pale green bill, heavy orange-red legs and black banded-under parts together makes it different from other known members of Water Crakes.
Nicobar crab-eating macaque	The Nicobar long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis umbrosa, popularly known as the Nicobar monkey) is a subspecies of the crab-eating macaque (M. fascicularis), endemic to the Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. This primate is found in three of the Nicobar Islands—Great Nicobar, Little Nicobar and Katchal—in biome regions consisting of tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. IUCN: Vulnerable
Nicobar tree shrew	The Nicobar treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica) is a treeshrew species within the Tupaiidae. It is endemic to the Nicobar Islands where it inhabits the islands’ rainforests. It is threatened by habitat loss. Although previously listed as an endangered species, the Nicobar treeshrew is now commonly found in its appropriate habitats. The Nicobar treeshrew was first described by Johann Zelebor in 1868. The Nicobar treeshrew only occupies the Indian Islands of Great Nicobar and Little Nicobar and can be found on the highest points of these two islands, 640 m above sea level.

Communities on Great Nicobar:

• Shompen: Approximately 250 individuals, living mostly in interior forests, isolated, hunter-gatherers, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG).
• Nicobarese: Engage in farming and fishing, divided into Great Nicobarese (450 individuals, resettled in Campbell Bay post-2004 tsunami) and Little Nicobarese (850 individuals, living in Afra Bay, Pulomilo, and Little Nicobar).

Settler Population:

• The majority are settlers from mainland India, including retired military servicemen and their families settled between 1968 and 1975 from various states (Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu).
• Around 330 households settled in seven revenue villages on the east coast: Campbell Bay, Govindnagar, Jogindernagar, Vijaynagar, Laxminagar, Gandhinagar, and Shastrinagar.
• Campbell Bay is an administrative hub with local offices.
• There were additional migrations of fisherfolk, labourers, businesspersons, and administrative staff post-2004 tsunami.
• The total population of settlers is approximately 6,000.

Source: TH