SOP released to conserve sea turtles across 36 islands of Lakshadweep

NEW DELHI: The Union environment ministry on Saturday released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), providing a unified and scientifically robust framework for the conservation, monitoring and management of sea turtles across Lakshadweep. All four major species of sea turtles - Green turtles, Hawksbills, Leatherbacks and Oliver Ridleys - enjoy the highest tier of legal protection under Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 in the Union Territory (UT). The SOP was released by the Union minister of state for environment and climate change Kirti Vardhan Singh during his visit to Kavaratti where he reviewed the ongoing conservation efforts for marine turtles and sea mammals. Discussions were also held there on strengthening biodiversity conservation and marine ecosystem protection in the islands. The SOP is meant for strictly governing nesting site security through guidelines to manage beach development, human habitation encroachment, and artificial beach illumination that disorients hatchlings. Systematic tracking protocols for officials to document turtle migration across all the 36 islands of the UT, and actionable steps for maritime bodies and local communities to rescue turtles in marine debris or abandoned fishing nets are also parts of the SOP. In Lakshadweep, the strict ban on poaching has resulted in local green turtle numbers to increase over the last decade. The uninhabited islands of Suheli Valiyakara host the highest density of green turtle nesting in the region