• 9964432222
  • Mail Us
  • Appointment
  • Locate Us
  • Chat Now
  • Courses
  • Login
  • Register
Manifest IAS
JournalsOfIndia
Manifest Learning Academy
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • SNIPPETSfor Prelims
  • ARTICLESfor Mains
  • BROWSEBY SOURCE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result
JournalsOfIndia
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Dugongs

Dugongs, the world's only vegetarian marine mammal are threatened with extinction.

August 26, 2020
in Environment
Reading Time: 5 mins read
0
Dugongs
521
VIEWS
Share on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on Facebook
image_pdfMake PDF

Dugongs and their habitats are at risk due to human activities. It has also found a place in IUCN red list. Hence it is necessary to study about the animal, threats to it and conservation efforts both from prelims and mains point of view.

In news Dugongs, the world’s only vegetarian marine mammal are threatened with extinction.
Placing it in syllabus Environment – Fauna

Dimensions

  • About Dugongs
  • Habitats in India and world
  • Threats 
  • Conservation efforts 

Content

About Dugongs:

  • The dugong is commonly known as sea cow.
  • They are marine species like sea turtles, seahorses, sea cucumbers and others.
  • They are protected in India under Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.
  • The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction and the CITES limits or bans the trade of derived products. 
  • According to the 2013 survey report of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI),  there were just 250 dugongs in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat.
  • In 2020 dugongs will be counted with the help of underwater drone cameras.
  • Dugongs graze on seagrass in shallow coastal waters. 
  • They can consume up to 40 kilograms of seagrass in a day.

Habitats in India and world:

  • The dugong spans the waters of some 40 countries and are found in warm coastal waters from the western Pacific Ocean to the eastern coast of Africa.
  • It is restricted to the coastal habitats which support seagrass meadows.
  • Hence they occur in wide, shallow, protected areas such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands and inter-reefal waters.
  • The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong’s contemporary stronghold.
  • The Persian Gulf has the second-largest dugong population, inhabiting most of the southern coast with a population in the range of 5,800 to 7,300.
  • They are usually located at a depth of around 10 m, although in areas where the continental shelf remains shallow dugongs have been known for descending to as far as 37 metres where deepwater seagrasses such as Halophila spinulosa are found.
  • In India, a highly isolated breeding population exists in the Marine National Park, Gulf of Kutch, the only remaining population in western India.
  • Former populations in this area, centered on the Maldives and the Laccadive Islands, are presumed to be extinct.
  • A population exists in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, but it is seriously depleted.
  • The population around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is scattered.
  • Recoveries of seagrass beds along former ranges of dugongs, such as the Chilika Lake have been confirmed in recent years, raising hopes for re-colorizations of the species.

Threats

  • The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil.
  • Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several countries, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. 
  • Despite being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline include fishing-related fatalities, loss of seagrass beds due to ocean floor trawling and hunting. 
  • With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, it has a slow rate of reproduction.
  • Pollution, rampant illegal fishing activities, vessel strikes and unplanned tourism are the other threats.

Conservation efforts:

  • Dugong protection awareness camps among local fishermen and others in the seaside villages of Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and the Andamans have been organised. 
  • The Government of India has been a signatory to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) since 1983 and has signed non-legally binding MoUs with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016).
  • A ‘Task Force for Conservation of Dugong in India’ was constituted by the Government of India to formulate the conservation action plan for dugongs. It has recommended the following objectives:
  1. Improve our understanding of dugong and its habitats through research and monitoring
  2. Conserve the species by reducing direct and indirect causes of dugong mortality
  3. Conserve and manage dugong habitats
  4. Develop awareness for its conservation
  5. Develop legal protection of dugongs and their habitats
  6. Develop national, regional and international cooperation on dugong research and conservation
  7. Promote the implementation of the MoU
Mould your thought Where are Dugongs inhabited? What conservation efforts have been made to reduce the threat to Dugongs?
image_pdfMake PDF
Source: The Hindu
Tags: GS-3Mains

Related Posts

Mayurbhanj’s ‘ant chutney’

Mayurbhanj’s ‘ant chutney’

July 5, 2022
Species added to India’s floral and faunal database in 2021

Species added to India’s floral and faunal database in 2021

July 5, 2022
Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022

Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022

July 2, 2022
2022 United Nations Ocean Conference

2022 United Nations Ocean Conference

July 1, 2022
Ban on single use plastics

Ban on single use plastics

July 1, 2022
India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

India Forum for Nature-based Solutions

July 1, 2022
EU’s Nature Restoration Law

EU’s Nature Restoration Law

June 30, 2022
Oceans Great Dying 2.0

Oceans Great Dying 2.0

June 29, 2022
Menar bird village to be declared wetland

Menar bird village to be declared wetland

June 28, 2022
Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

Kerala to have its own Red list of Birds

June 28, 2022
Please login to join discussion

Our Offline Classroom Student

PRELIMS 2021 POLITY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/5q8hBcRGhAs

PRELIMS 2021 HISTORY QUESTIONS ANALYSED

https://youtu.be/v0SIZ7SUybg

CONGRATULATIONS TO 2021 TOPPERS !!!

Rank 171 Kumar Shivashish
Rank 250 Sahithya
Rank 263 Sumit Kumar Thakur
Rank 311 Deepak Ramachandra Shet
Rank 455 Ravinandan B M

July 2022
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jun    

Browse by Category

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tags

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana
JournalsOfIndia

Our vision is to orient the readers to grasp the facts objectively and analyse critically. In the rush of reaching first to the readers, the websites miss the balanced opinion, which is the need of the hour. We aim to reach the readers with more crispness, preciseness and relevance. We bring the articles in UPSC way for the civil services aspirants and the Wisest Way for general readers.

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Disaster Management
  • Economy
  • Environment
  • Ethics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Geography
  • Governance
  • History
  • Law & Policy
  • Opinion
  • People in News
  • Places in News
  • Science & Tech
  • Security
  • Society
  • Sports
  • Uncategorized

Browse by Tag

AIR BBC Business Standard CNN Deccan Herald DownToEarth Down to Earth DTE Economic Times ET GS-1 GS-2 GS-3 GS-4 Hindustan Times IE India & the world Indian express India today Indiatoday Kurukshetra LiveMint Mains News Newspaper News Paper PIB PIB & The Hindu pre Prelims PRS India RSTV Science Reporter Survey The Hindu The Hindustan Times The India Express The Indian Express The New Indian Express Times of India TOI TOPPERS UNDP website Wikipedia Yojana

Newsletter

The most important UPSC news and events of the day.

Get Journals daily newsletter on your inbox.

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

  • Login
  • Sign Up
  • Home
  • SNIPPETS
  • ARTICLES
  • BROWSE
  • DOWNLOADS
No Result
View All Result

© 2020 JournalsOfIndia - A free initiative by Manifest Team.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In