#1ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY & INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARIES
Top ↑Palk Strait & Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve Marine Conservation Initiative
ЁЯФ╣ Why in News & Recent Development
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in partnership with the Tamil Nadu Forest Department launched a joint cross-border marine conservation initiative covering the Palk Strait and Gulf of Mannar to protect endangered marine megafauna.
ЁЯФ╣ Ecological Profile & Dugong Habitat
Palk Bay holds India's first Dugong Conservation Reserve (notified in Manamelkudi, Pudukkottai district). Dugongs (Dugong dugon), or sea cows, are herbivorous marine mammals dependent on pristine seagrass beds. The Gulf of Mannar is India's first Marine Biosphere Reserve, spanning 21 islands with rich coral reefs and mangrove estuaries.
ЁЯФ╣ Geographical Alignment and Maritime Boundary
The Palk Strait separates Tamil Nadu state of India and the Mannar district of Sri Lanka. It connects the Bay of Bengal in the northeast with the Palk Bay in the southwest, featuring the sacred Adam's Bridge (Ram Setu) chain of limestone shoals.
ЁЯФ╣ UP PCS / STATE PCS HIGH-YIELD VALUE ADDITION
тАвтАв IUCN Status of Dugong: Vulnerable (VU); listed under Schedule I of Wildlife Protection Act 1972.
тАвтАв First Marine Biosphere Reserve: Gulf of Mannar (Designated in 1989, UNESCO MAB Site in 2001).
тАвтАв First Dugong Reserve: Manamelkudi (Pudukkottai & Thanjavur districts, Tamil Nadu).
тАвтАв UP PCS Mapping Focus: Strait identification (Palk Strait - India/Sri Lanka, Malacca - Malaysia/Sumatra, Sunda - Java/Sumatra).