Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination (Topic: Translocation of Corals off the Coast of Mumbai)

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Translocation of Corals off the Coast of Mumbai

On October 29, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) received the green signal from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Nagpur, for translocating the corals off the coast of Mumbai (across the Haji AliWorli shoreline) for the Rs 12,700-crore Mumbai Coastal Road Project.
The BMC aims to complete the translocation of 18 coral colonies over two days next month.

The BMC is executing the 10.58-km project from Princess Street Flyover on Marine Drive to Worli, where it will connect to the Bandra-Worli Sealink.
Due to the proposed Mumbai Coastal Road Project, the western coast near Worli will be reclaimed by 200 metres to 500 metre by dumping of soil. This will not only be a road but also a parking area. A garden will be created through reclamation. The reclamation is threatened to wipe out fishermen’s livelihood.
The BMC would be translocating 18 colonies of corals. These corals are in danger due to the coastal road project at Haji Ali and Worli.

The permission to shift the corals has come with six additional conditions from the PCCF (Wildlife), Nagpur.
The translocation process would need to be completed by December 31 this year.
The entire process would take place in the presence of Additional PCCF (Mangrove Cell) or a forest department representative, and also in the presence of an expert from either the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) or the Wildlife Institute of India.
The civic body would have to ensure that the corals receive adequate protection during the translocation process, and follow up with continuous monitoring at the new site to ensure that the corals are surviving and growing.
The BMC would also have to submit to the Centre and the state government a completion report.
The department has also warned the civic body that in case any mishap occurs during the translocation process that could endanger the corals, the government could revoke its permission.

Corals exhibit characteristics of plants, but are marine animals that are related to jellyfish and anemones.
Coral polyps are tiny, soft-bodied organisms. At their base is a hard, protective limestone skeleton called a calicle, which forms the structure of coral reefs.
As colonies grow over hundreds and thousands of years, they join with other colonies, and become reefs.
There are soft corals as well, which are non-reef-building, and resemble bushes, grasses, trees.
Corals are protected marine species sporadically spread across rocky intertidal regions along the Mumbai coast.
Corals are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life Protection Act,1972 and enjoy the same protection as tigers do. Without proper understanding of their ecology and the feasibility of other sites, translocating them is a potential disaster.

Coral reefs are like underwater cities that support marine life. According to the UN Environment programme, they provide at least half a billion people around the world with food security and livelihoods.
Coral reefs also act as ‘wave breaks’ between the sea and the coastline and minimise the impact of sea erosion.
The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), appointed to study the presence of marine biodiversity along with the Coastal Road project area, has identified six coral species at Worli and Haji Ali: two species of the Rhizangiidae family (Oulangia and one unidentified species), with 18 colonies documented across 0.251 square metres in Worli; and another species (Dendrophylliidae family) along with Rhizangiidae across 1.1 square foot area at Haji Ali.
The translocation of corals is at a nascent stage along the Indian coastline.
Pilot projects at the Lakshadweep islands, and off the coast of Kutch and Tamil Nadu have been undertaken to study the survival rate, method and site of translocation, and creation of high heat-resistant coral colonies, etc.