WILD

Other side of the globe — Same issue

Right now, there is great focus and concern on the Gulf coast – and rightly so.  The impacts of the Gulf oil spill on the ecological systems and human communities are tragic and likely not yet fully realized.  Recovery from this disaster will be a long, slow process.  Tragically, a similar, albeit less grandiose in scale, oil spill has impacted the Orissa coast of India, one of the last remaining nesting grounds for the endangered Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.

In mid-April, an Essar Shipping Corporation cargo ship was struck by a barge and leaked (an estimated) 8 tonnes of furnace oil near the Gopalpur port, near Orissa on the eastern Indian coast.  Within just a few hours, the huge slick washed ashore at Rushikulya, where over 150,000 turtles had just laid their eggs.

Authorities claimed the beach was cleaned-up properly, however researchers report that more than half of the turtle eggs could have been damaged by the spill.   The spill also shut down fishing operations for about 20 days, devastating local villages who relay heavily on fisheries for income.   More information is available via the news-wire.  WILD is involved with advocacy efforts to deter further development along the Orrissa coast.

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