OneWorld.net (U.S.)

In what could be a devastating turn of events for Orissa’s famous Olive Ridley turtles, the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has permitted two Indian companies -- Oil and Natural Gas Corporation of India Ltd (ONGC) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) -- to carry out offshore drilling in the Bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast during the current turtle nesting season.

In a letter dated October 24, 2005, the two companies received the green signal to carry out exploratory drilling of 23 wells. This contradicts the suggestions of the Multidisciplinary Expert Group (MEG), constituted by the MoEF itself in 2003 to assess the likely impact of offshore exploratory drilling activities on the migratory and nesting patterns of the Olive Ridley in Orissa.

The MEG had recommended that no drilling be carried out in the offshore waters of the Orissa coast during the turtle season from November to May. It also suggested that suitable studies be carried out before any such move was planned.

ONGC has been allotted two blocks, one of which (MN-OSN-2000/2), with an area of 6,199 sq km, is located within 10 km of Chilika lake, Asia’s largest brackish water lagoon and a Ramsar site. Spillages and blowouts could destroy the lake’s fragile habitat that is home to the endangered Irrawady dolphin and nearly 1 million migratory waterfowl.

RIL has been allowed to drill 20 exploratory wells in NEC-OSN-97/2 (NEC-25) block, which is perilously close to the Gahirmatha marine wildlife sanctuary just 10 km away. This marine sanctuary constitutes the world’s largest sea turtle congregation zone.

Biswajit Mohanty of the Wild Life Society of Orissa warns that the move could have serious environmental repercussions in the region. He accuses the MoEF of violating the precautionary principle laid down by the Supreme Court of India, which states “where there are threats of serious and irreversible damage, lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing measures to prevent environmental degradation”. The court held that it might be appropriate to place the burden of proof on the person proposing the activity that is potentially harmful to the environment.

The MoEF has also specified that the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) shall concurrently monitor the impact of exploration activities on the breeding/migration of Olive Ridley turtles. Since no baseline data is currently available, the MoEF has stipulated that studies shall be undertaken to assess the impact of drilling, shipping, oil and gas exploration and transportation of oil/gas, etc, on the seabed, marine wildlife particularly sea turtles, dolphins, porpoises, whales, coral reefs, fishery resources, and also on mangroves. If evidence of significant disruption was found, the exploration activities shall be stopped during the breeding/migration season. Nowhere in the world is such a potentially harmful activity permitted, with studies (paid for by the developer) being carried on concurrently!

As such, India does not have any environmental standards for offshore drilling in place. This activity will put severe pressure on the already endangered marine life. A recent study by marine scientists Sandra Kloff and Clive Wicks on the effects of oil exploration on the West African coast states: “Seismic surveys which are used to generate loud sound waves can be dangerous to whales and dolphins. Fish catches in an area where seismic surveying took place can be temporarily reduced by 40%. Bright illumination due to flaring of gas will have disastrous effects on the adult and hatchling sea turtles since these lights can be seen up to 10-15 miles from the rig location.”

In 2002, the Costa Rica government refused to open up its offshore areas for oil or gas drilling in order to protect its world famous Olive Ridley population.

Why has the MoEF sanctioned the move? Memories are still fresh of the recent fire at a Bombay High platform that destroyed some wells and caused spillage of crude oil. If an oil blowout happens at NEC-25, we could lose the Olive Ridleys of Orissa forever, says a very concerned Mohanty. SOURCE: Infochange India News and Features