April 17 to 19, 2001, was a historic occasion. At the mouth of the Devi river in the state of Orissa, on the eastern sea coast of India, Chandra, a nesting female Olive Ridley Turtle and three others of her species, were being tagged. This was the first time in India that turtles were being tagged. With the help of satellite transmitters, the movement of Chandra and the others can be tracked even after they venture back into the deep sea, far from the nesting site. The migration patterns of these turtles have been a mystery to biologists all these years. This information is vital for developing conservation plans for the Olive Ridley Turtles, an endangered species  under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and the IUCN  Red List 2000. With these special tracking devices, it will now be possible to study their long range migration and their foraging areas. This unique exercise was part of an all-India initiative to develop a sustainable model for conservation of these endangered marine reptiles and restoration and conservation of their habitats along the Indian coastline in ten states in India. The most interesting aspect of the Olive Ridleys’ life cycle is their nesting behaviour. Every year at Gahirmatha and two other sites on the Orissa coast,   hundreds of thousands of Olive Ridleys congregate on the beach, between December and April, for mass nesting. This phenomenon is called the arribada (‘arrival’ in Spanish). In 1999, by the end of March, it was estimated that around 2,00,000 turtles had nested at the Gahirmatha beach. This narrow nesting beach is so densely packed with nesting female turtles that successive waves of turtles on the beach unearth the eggs from the previous nesters. Information about this enormous rookery came to light to the scientific community only in 1974. Since then measures have been taken to conserve this turtle nesting site. Mass nesting sites such as Gahirmatha have been greatly impacted by natural processes in the region in the recent past. When discovered, mass nesting was occurring along a 10 km stretch of the coastline. In the early 1980s, the turtles themselves deserted this site to shift northwards to the Ekakula nasi (‘nasi’ means sand spit near a river mouth). In 1989, a severe cyclone fragmented this nesting beach. The sand pit now formed an elongated island, around 4 km in length, surrounded by the Maipura river on three sides, and the Bay of Bengal on the east. That year, no more than a hundred turtles nested at the island. Later, mass nesting started on the island, now renamed as Ekakulnasi rookery. Nature had more in store. In 1998, the island got further fragmented. Two islands were formed with an average width of 50 mtrs. This narrow width left very little space for nesting, leading to the Arribada Threats to the Turtles Rescuing the Ridleys Species conservation efforts Partnership between NGOs and Government 5 2

Towards Sustainability: Stories from India 6 Tracking the Turtle Satellite telemetry is now being used for tracking the movements of turtles, once they go out to the deep sea. Platform Transmitter Terminal (PTT) or Satellite transmitters are attached to the animal whose movements are to be monitored. They are attached to the turtle’s shell using epoxy which does not generate heat, or harm the turtle. The PTTs have temperature sensors and surface time counters to indicate the proportion of time spent on the surface. A switch ensures that the PTT is switched on only when the turtle surfaces, conserving the battery when under water. The battery is designed to last a year, assuming that the turtle spends 30 per cent of its time on the surface. The transmitters send high frequency signals that are received by Polar orbiting weather satellites. The transmissions are then decoded to identify the transmitter, as each has a unique code. With this data, latitudes and longitudes can be plotted on a map, and the migratory route traced. In 2001, for the first time in India, the Olive Ridley turtles were tagged with satellite transmitters to track their movements once they left the beach. destruction of previously laid eggs by subsequent nesting turtles. Beach erosion also leaves many nests exposed to predators like jackals, foxes, crows and other birds. The hatchlings have to negotiate these predators to reach the ocean. Marine biologists believe that only one out of every 1000 eggs actually matures into an adult. But the major threat comes from human activities. Roads and buildings being constructed near the rookeries hamper nesting. More infrastructure projects near the nesting sites mean more threats to the turtles and their habitat. The hatchlings instinctively find their way to the ocean by sensing the light on the sea, as compared to the dark areas of vegetation and dunes where they nest. But the increased lighting from roads and buildings on the landward side misguides young turtles who get confused about the route to the sea, leading to increased mortality. Trawler fishing, though banned near the coast, is a threat, and Turtle Excluder Devices, though mandated, may not always be used. Soon after 1974, when information about the rookery came to light, there were also reports that poaching of turtles and their eggs for markets in Kolkatta was depleting their population. Subsequently, the area was notified as a Sanctuary in 1975 (the Bhitarkanaika Sanctuary), and was also closed for hunting. Collection of adults and eggs from the beach was strictly prohibited. Recognizing the major threat to turtles from fishing by large trawlers,  the Orissa Marine Fisheries Regulation Act was passed in1982. This Act prohibits trawling within 10 km of the coastline throughout the state and makes it mandatory for all trawlers to use Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs).  In 2001, the state government of Orissa declared the five-month period between January to May as a no-fishing season, a distance of within 20 km from the coastline.   In 1999, the Government of India launched the Sea Turtle Project. This project is being implemented by the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun in partnership with the Forest Departments of ten selected states. UNDP has supported this three-year programme (1999 to 2001). The satellite tracking of the young turtles described earlier, forms a part of this project. The project aims at conservation of the turtles and restoration and conservation of their habitats. The project has conducted comprehensive threat analysis of Olive Ridley Turtles and their habitats. A major thrust of the programme has been to build capacities of major stakeholders, such as state and central government organizations, NGOs and CBOs. Surveys of the nesting sites have been conducted by organizations identified in the different states. One of the main outcomes of the project is a management action plan which has generated data about the mass mortality rate of Olive Ridley sea turtles along the coast of Orissa and other coastal states/union territories. A Sea Turtle Project Mission team was constituted for Orissa, which has the world’s largest nesting sites for these turtles. The team has developed a detailed action plan to address issues such as survey of nesting beaches, sea turtle database in Orissa, a model community Conservation Efforts

Partnership between NGOs and Government 7 participatory management plan, setting up of in-situ hatcheries, and study on operation of mechanised fishing vessels in Orissa. The Operation Kachhapa (Operation Turtle) programme has launched a variety of measures to spread awareness, as well as taking direct action to prevent the death of turtles. It conducts a large number of awareness programmes for fisherfolk in the area. These include mobile exhibitions, and volunteers visiting fishing villages to spread the message of turtle conservation through songs, skits and paintings. A key message of the awareness programmes is about the law that protects a 10 km coastal zone for the exclusive use of small fisherfolk, prohibiting large trawlers from crossing those limits. The project has also made a trawler available for patrolling at the mouth of the river Devi. An incentive scheme for enforcement officers has also been created, including the monthly Kachhapa Award for outstanding service. Operation Kachhapa is an initiative being coordinated by the Wildlife Protection Society of India, Delhi and involves many local NGOs, including the Wildlife Society of Orissa, as partners. The Orissa Forest Department, WII and the Coastguards are also involved with the project. The intensive effort to protect sea turtles is one of several initiatives undertaken by Government of India to protect her wildlife. India seeks to protect her immense biological wealth  through both in situ and ex situ measures. The Wildlife (Protection) Act was passed in 1972 to enforce conservation measures. As a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), trade related to endangered flora and fauna is also prohibited. A National Wildlife Action Plan initially formulated in 1983 has been revised and a new Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) has been adopted. The plan outlines the strategies, action points and priority projects for wildlife conservation in the country, to help strengthen and enhance the country’s efforts towards wildlife conservation. Several species-focussed initiatives have also been taken. Project Tiger launched by Government of India with support of WWF-International in 1973 was one of the first aimed at protecting a key species. Recognizing that tigers cannot be protected in isolation, and that to protect the tiger, its habitat needed to be protected, the Project was started in nine tiger reserves in different eco-systems of the country covering an area of 16,339 sq.km.  By 2001 the number of tiger reserves increased to 27, covering an area of 37,761 sq km. The tiger numbers too climbed from 268 in 1972 in the nine tiger reserves, to around 1500 in 1997 in the 23 tiger reserves. The year 2000 marked the silver jubilee of India’s Crocodile Breeding and Conservation Project, perhaps one of the most successful conservation and breeding projects in the world. Launched in 1975, the project’s first objective was to protect the remaining population of crocodilians in their natural habitat by creating sanctuaries. Today an area of 20,00,000 ha is protected for crocodiles. The project has seen the creation of first wetland sanctuaries of the country. Another objective of the project was to rebuild the natural population quickly through ‘grow and release’ or ‘rear and release’ techniques. Thousands of crocodiles have been bred in over thirty rearing stations, zoos and other sites where captive breeding takes place.  There have also been increased sightings of crocodiles in several of the twenty natural water bodies where more than seven thousand individuals of three species of crocodiles have been restocked. Projects to Protect

Towards Sustainability: Stories from India 8 The Central Crocodile Breeding and Management Training Institute at  Hyderabad, (later renamed the Crocodile Research Centre of Wildlife Institute of India) has also been set up to cater to the needs of trained staff for crocodile conservation. India is home to about half the world’s population of about 50,000 Asian Elephants. Project Elephant was launched in 1992 to ensure long term survival of identified viable populations of elephants in their natural habitat. The project is being implemented in 12 states. Major activities of the project include ecological restoration of existing natural habitats and migratory routes of elephants, promotion of measures for mitigation of human-animal conflicts in problem areas, and moderating pressures of human and livestock on crucial elephant habitats. The Project has also initiated eco-development and education and awareness programmes, along with strengthening measures for the protection of wild elephants from poachers.