Why save the turtles?

Consider this… Olive Ridley turtles rely on an inexplicable, in-built navigation system that guides them, when it’s time for them to reproduce, back to the precise coast on which they were born.

Now consider something else… The proposed Tata port at Dhamra threatens a nesting site that is amongst the last honeymoon suites for the remaining Olive Ridleys, a highly-endangered species that swims all the way here from places as far away as Australia and the Philippines.

When you consider these two facts together, it seems only logical that Tata would reconsider its decision to build the port at Dhamra, and build it in an area that’s less ecologically sensitive. It seems especially logical when it’s Tata we’re talking about.

After all, Tata has grown from a national giant into an international player, while constantly highlighting it’s stated commitment to the principles of social upliftment, environmental justice and sustainable development. The TATA brand is ubiquitous, present in hundreds of products used by millions of Indians every day.

Turtle hatchlings are easily confused by bright lights near the nesting grounds. (photo copyright Bivash Pandey)

And yet, in Orissa, we’re witnessing a different side to the same Tata. A Tata that shuts its ears to reason. A Tata that looks the other way when confronted with evidence. A Tata that cares nothing for the broader consequences of its actions, and even less for nature.

The port Tata is proposing to build in Dhamra will directly affect the Olive Ridley turtles. With 150,000 to 350,000 Olive Ridley turtles nesting in the vicinity, the average number of hatchlings is believed to range from 15 million to 35 million. India’s second largest mangrove forest, Bhitarkanika, home to saltwater crocodiles and other endangered species, is barely five kilometres from the port. Yet the perfunctory EIA carried out ignores this and more, and isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.

When confronted by Greenpeace Tata promised concerned citizens that it would abandon the port ‘if evidence of turtle presence and the ecological significance of the area were ever unearthed.’ The evidence was submitted, but this promise wasn’t kept.

Turtle mortality continues to be high off the coast of Orissa. (Photo copyright Pratyush Mohapatra/Greenpeace)

While the pressure generated in 2008 led to TATA agreeing first to a process of dialogue and then to the need for an independent environmental impact assessment, construction continues at the site. Of course, continuing the port construction makes perfect sense for TATA, but not for the environment. If the TATAs are serious about their environmental responsibilities, they must suspend construction, commission an independent and transparent environmental assessment and use the results of this assessment to inform the future of the port.

As another nesting season passes us by, turtle mortality from mechanized fishing remains high. Coming in addition to this annual death toll, the TATA port could be the final nail in the turtles’ coffin, ensuring that this area is never safe for turtles again.

Will this willful destruction be the legacy that Tata leaves behind in Orissa?

Not if you can help it. To write directly to Ratan Tata and ask him to immediately suspend port construction pending an independent environmental assessment.