State govt taps NIO to draft plans for eco-sensitive areas, island management

Panaji: State govt has appointed CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Dona Paula, to prepare environmental management plans for ecologically sensitive areas (ESAs), and integrated island management plans (IMPs) for the state’s islands under the CRZ Notification, 2019. The project is estimated to cost over Rs 1.8 crore.NIO will prepare plans for ESAs mapped by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, and IMPs for Goa’s islands as per the Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011.A senior govt official said NIO will prepare management plans for ESAs under CRZ-IA, including mangroves, coral reefs, sand dunes, mudflats, protected forests, wildlife habitats, turtle nesting sites, seagrass beds, salt marshes, and heritage sites. If a mangrove area exceeds 1,000sqm, a 50m buffer along the mangroves will be provided and the area will be identified as CRZ-IA.According to the official, the environment department will provide all the data and maps that will be require for ESA and island management plans in digital, GIS-compatible formats, with separate files for each demarcated ESA in shapefiles or other GIS-compatible formats.NIO teams will also be provided site access and protection from local resistance, with state support provided only when data or on-ground assistance is needed, the official said.“All data and maps in the prescribed format must be provided by govt departments to CSIR-NIO to prepare the management plan report,” the official added.