The proponents of the Kochi oceanarium project have come up with a green offer to compensate for the disturbances the project is likely to cause to the mangrove vegetation at Puthu Vypeen.
The State Fisheries Resource Management Society (FIRMA), which is piloting the project, has offered to plant, nurture and maintain mangroves either at Vypeen or Valanthakadu Island in lieu of the mangroves that would be lost or disturbed while the project is implemented. FIRMA will approach the State-level Environment Impact Assessment Committee (EIAC) with the proposal for seeking environmental clearance for the project, said A. Gopalakrishnan Nair, Executive Director of the Society.
The Authority had earlier directed the Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, to prepare a mangrove map of the area. The clearance of the EIAC is required as the area proposed for the oceanarium falls under the Zone One of the Coastal Regulation Zone.
It was during the term of the previous government that the Fisheries Ministry initiated the project at Puthu Vypeen. The State government had also formed a Special Purpose Vehicle—Kerala Oceanic and Marine Park Ltd—for conceptualising, executing and commissioning the project in the Public-Private Partnership mode.
The feasibility report prepared earlier had estimated the cost of the project at around Rs. 480 crore. While the oceanarium component would require Rs. 350 crore, the marine biology research park would require Rs. 130 crore. The Union Ministry for Earth Sciences had offered to support the park by setting up an international biological research centre and shifting its Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology to the new site. The State government had also identified 40 acres in the area for the project, which would be accounted as its investment in the oceanarium.
FIRMA will approach the EIAC with the proposal to relocate the flora and fauna of the Puthu Vypeen area at one of the two sites identified for the purpose. A detailed project for planting mangroves at a 20 acre holding near the Pokkali fields or at 40 acres at puramboke land at Valanthakad will be submitted to the authorities. All varieties of mangroves present in the project land will be planted at the selected site and the society will take up the responsibility for its propagation, protection and management, he said.
Awareness creation on mangrove vegetation and the role they play in supporting aquatic biodiversity is one of the thrust areas of the research wing of the oceanarium project. A mangrove pavilion will also be set up as part of the project, he said.
It is a reality that the mangrove vegetation of the area is in peril as several mega projects including the LNG terminal are coming up there. The society, which is bound to protect and propagate the mangroves, has offered to ensure the propagation of the plants in a suitable location, Mr. Nair said.
The CESS is expected to submit the map this week. The society will submit its proposals along with the map to the Authority.
