In Varanasi, turtles help clean the Ganga

In Varanasi, turtles help clean the Ganga

Subject : Environment

Section: Species

Concept :

• Since 2014, the Namami Gange Programme has been working to clean and rejuvenate the Ganga river network, and marine life, particularly turtles, has played a crucial role. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Ministry of Forest, in collaboration with the National Mission for Clean Ganga, have been running a turtle breeding and rehabilitation centre in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, since 2017.
• The Namami Gange Programme aims to clean the Ganga River network and rejuvenate it.

Turtles:

• Turtles can be predators or prey. They can be herbivores, omnivores and carnivores. They can be specialists, feeding on a few food sources, like the leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) that eats almost exclusively jellyfish. Or they can be generalists, feasting on a wide variety of food, like slider turtles that eat just about anything. Turtles and their eggs are important prey to a wide variety of predators. These reptiles graze, they dig burrows, they disperse seeds, they create and modify habitats, and they affect food webs and mineral cycling. Losing these animals can be disastrous.
• The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and the Ministry of Forest, in collaboration with the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), established a turtle breeding and rehabilitation centre in Varanasi in 2017.

Turtle Rehabilitation Centre:

• The centre releases turtles into the river to support the Namami Gange Programme.
• Approximately 5,000 turtles have been released since 2017, and another 1,000 will be released this year to strengthen the program.
• The centre has released over 40,000 turtles into the river since its establishment in the late 1980s under the Ganga Action Plan.
• The Namami Gange Programme brought renewed attention to the centre in 2014.

Turtle Breeding Process:

• The Forest and Wildlife Department collects turtle eggs from coastal areas in the Chambal region.
• The eggs are monitored for 70 days and placed in a specially adapted room for hatching.
• The eggs are buried in sand-filled wooden boxes, with each box containing 30 eggs.
• Hatching occurs between June and July at temperatures ranging from 27 to 30 degrees Celsius.
• The turtles are then monitored in an artificial pond for two years before being released into the river.

Turtles’ Role in Water Quality Improvement:

• Turtles contribute to cleaning the river by consuming meat and waste products.
• Freshwater turtles are known for their ecosystem services like keeping rivers, ponds and freshwater sources clean by eating algal blooms and scavenging on dead matter.
• Freshwater turtles play an important role in being predators as well as the prey.
• They control invasive fishes by eating them, and at the same time, they are an important source of protein for a lot of animals that feed on turtle eggs and juvenile turtles,”
• They are scavengers, also sometimes known as “vultures of the aquatic ecosystem keeping the ecosystem clean and an important part of the aquatic food chain. A healthy pond ecosystem usually has a flapshell or some kind of freshwater turtle.
• River water quality checks have shown improvements in biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), fecal coliform (FC), and dissolved oxygen (DO) levels.
• pH assessments have indicated suitable water quality for bathing.
• Improved DO, BOD, and FC levels have been observed at various locations along the river.

What is Turtle Survival Alliance:

• The Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) was formed in 2001 as an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) partnership for sustainable captive management of freshwater turtles and tortoises.
• The TSA arose in response to the rampant and unsustainable harvest of Asian turtle populations to supply Chinese markets, a situation known as the Asian Turtle Crisis.
• Mission: ‘Zero Turtle Extinctions in the 21st Century’.

Status of Turtle in India:

• India has 29 species of freshwater turtles (24) and tortoises (5).
• More than half of the turtle species are threatened and 11 are protected under Schedule I of The Wildlife Protection Act, enjoying the same protection as tigers.
• The three critically endangered turtles are being conserved as a part of TSA India’s research, conservation breeding and education programme in different parts of the country.
  • The Northern River Terrapin (Batagurbaska) is being conserved at the Sunderbans;
  • The Red-crowned Roofed Turtle (Batagurkachuga) at Chambal;
  • The Black Softshell Turtle (Nilssonia nigricans) at different temples in

What is the difference between Turtle and Tortoise:

• The main difference between the two is that turtles are primarily aquatic whereas tortoises are terrestrial and spend more time on land.

What is Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

• The Wildlife Crime Control Bureau  is a statutory multi-disciplinary body under the MoEFCCcreated in 2007 under the provisions of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
• Wildlife Crime Control Bureau is designated nodal agency for CITES related enforcement.
• The Bureau has its five regional offices at Delhi (headquarters), Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and Jabalpur; and five border units at Ramanathapuram, Gorakhpur, Motihari, Nathula and Moreh.
• It has received the Asia Environmental Enforcement Award-2020 awarded by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, WCCB is mandated to:
  • Collect and collate intelligence related to organized wildlife crime;
  • Disseminate the same to State and other enforcement agencies so as to apprehend the criminals;
  • To establish a centralized wildlife crime data bank;
  • Coordinate actions by various agencies in connection with the enforcement of the provisions of the Act;
  • Assist international organizations& foreign authorities to facilitate wildlife crime control;
  • Capacity building of the wildlife crime enforcement agencies;
  • Assist State Governments to ensure success in prosecutions related to wildlife crimes; and
  • Advise the Government of India on issues relating to wildlife crimes.
  • It also assists and advises the Customs authorities in inspection of the consignments of flora & fauna as per the provisions of Wild Life Protection Act, CITES and EXIM Policy governing such an item.

Various Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) led operations:

• Operation “Save Kurma” to focus on the poaching, transportation and illegal trade of live turtles and tortoises.
• “Operation Turtshield- I” and “Operation Turtshield-II” were taken up to tackle the illegal trade of live turtles.
• Operation “Lesknow”, “Lesknow-II” and Operation “Lesknow-III” to gain attention of enforcement agencies towards the illegal wildlife trade in lesser-known species of wildlife.
• Operation Clean Art to drag attention of enforcement agencies towards illegal wildlife trade in Mongoose hair brushes.
• Operation Softgoldto tackle Shahtoosh Shawl made from Chiru wool illegal trade and to spread awareness among the weavers and traders engaged in this trade.
• Operation Birbil to curb illegal trade in wild cat and wild bird species.
• Operation Wildnet, Operation Wildnet-II, Operation Wildnet-III and Operation Wildnet-IV to draw the attention of the enforcement agencies within the country to focus their attention on the ever increasing illegal wildlife trade over internet using social media platforms.
• Operation Freefly on illegal trade of live birds
• Operation Wetmark to ensure prohibition of sale of meat of wild animals in wet markets across the country