[Reader-list] Olive Ridley turtles

[S. Jabbar]

>From the Greenpeace campaign for the Olive Ridley Turtles.  Not that I find
the TATA environmental record that great...


Why Save the turtles?


Consider thisŠ Olive Ridley turtles rely on an inexplicable, in-built
navigation system that guides them, when it¹s time for them to reproduce,
back to the precise coast on which they were born.

Now consider something elseŠ 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 that¹s less ecologically sensitive. It seems especially logical when
it¹s Tata we¹re talking about.

After all, Tata has grown from a national giant into an international
player, while constantly stating its commitment to the principles of social
upliftment, environmental justice and sustainable development. The Tata
brand is ubiquitous, present in hundreds of products that have genuinely
improved the lives of generations of Indians; from the Tata salt that
flavours our daily bread, the Tata BP solar geyser that warms our winter
baths, the Tata Telecom that manages our communications, to the Tata cars
that Œdrive a billion dreams.¹


And yet, in Orissa, we¹re 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 community, 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.

When confronted by Greenpeace Tata promised concerned citizens that it would
abandon the port Œif evidence of turtle presence and the ecological
significance of the area were ever unearthed.¹


The evidence was submitted , but this promise wasn¹t kept. The perfunctory
EIA carried out in this area isn't worth the paper it's printed on. Another
nesting season has passed us by, with turtle mortality from mechanized
fishing agonizingly high. Coming in addition to this annual death toll, the
Tata port could be the final nail in the turtle¹s 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.

Please do what I've done. Write directly to Ratan by clicking here
<http://www.greenpeace.org/india/turtles/write-to-tata>