An upcoming port in Karnataka is shrinking space for olive ridley turtles

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Subject : Environment

Section: Biodiversity

The port could also impact the Mugali Marine Protected Area, which is Karnataka’s first marine protected area that houses over 15 species that have the highest protection under India’s wildlife law.
The beaches of Honnavar, a sub-district in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka, cover seven coastal villages — Apsarkonda in the south, Kasarkod, Karki, Mallukurva, Haldipur, Manki, and Pavinkurve in the north.
In February 2021, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change launched the National Marine Turtle Action Plan (2021-2026). The action plan mentioned that one of the major threats to turtles is the construction of ports and jetties.

About National Marine Turtle Action Plan (NMTAP)

The aim of the action plan is to strengthen and sustain collective and collaborative sea turtle conservation through the monitoring of key sites and a network of partners in the Indian sub-continent.
The project contains ways and means to not only promote inter-sectoral action for conservation but also guide improved coordination amongst the government, civil society and all relevant stakeholders.
It highlights actions to be taken for handling stranded animals on the shore, stranded or entangled animals in the sea or on a boat, reducing threats to marine species and their habitats, rehabilitation, etc.

Marine Turtles in India:

The Indian coastal waters supports five species of sea turtles found worldwide.
These are the Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea),Green (Chelonia mydas), Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and Loggerhead (Caretta caretta).
These five species of sea turtles that occur in Indian coastal waters are protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
India is home to the largest known nesting population of olive ridley turtles. Except Loggerhead turtles, the remaining four species (Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green and Olive ridley turtles) nest along the Indian coastline and islands of India. About 40,000 to 11,00,000 turtles nest every year on the beaches of India.
Number of turtles nesting varies between years and the success of sporadic nests have been observed to decline due to predations and habitat degradation.