Copyright © Wildlife Trust of India 2014 The Gujarat Forest Department is entrusted with the prime Wildlife Trust of India responsibility of protection, conservation and development F-13, Sector 8, NOIDA- 201301, of forests and wildlife of the state. They have extended Uttar Pradesh, India. support to the Whale Shark campaign even beyond the Email: [email protected], Website: www.wti.org.in shores of the state. Keywords: Conservation, Mithapur, Coral reef, Acropora, Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) is a non-profit conservation Gujarat, Agatti Island, Acclimatization, Lakshadweep, organisation, committed to help conserve nature, El-Nino, Transplantation, Coral spawning, Coral rescue, especially endangered species and threatened habitats, Artificial reef, Beach cleaning. in partnership with communities and governments. Our principal objectives include managing or preventing Suggested citation: Subburaman. S, Goutham. S, Joshi. D, wildlife crises and mitigating threats to individual wild Venkatesh. M, Praveenkumar. B. M., Matwal. M, Kamboj. animals, their populations and habitats through holistic R. D, Wafar. M. V. M, Kaul. R, and Choudhury. B.C. (2014). strategies and practical interventions. Daring to Restore – Coral Reef Recovery in Mithapur. Wildlife Trust of India, Noida - 201301, Uttar Pradesh, India. The designations of geographical entities in this publication and the presentation of the material do not Established in 1939, Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) is imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the India’s leading manufacturer of inorganic chemicals, part of the authors or WTI concerning the legal status fertilisers and food additives. Part of the US$-22-billion of any country, territory or area, or of its authorities, or Tata group, the company owns and operates the largest concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. and most integrated inorganic chemicals complex in the country at Mithapur, Gujarat. The company’s state-of-the- All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of art fertiliser complex at Babrala, Uttar Pradesh, is known material in this publication for educational or any non- for its world-class energy efficiency standards, and has won commercial purposes are authorised without any prior several awards in the fields of environmental conservation, written permission from the copyright holders provided community development and safety. TCL’s phosphatic the source is fully acknowledged and appropriate credit fertiliser complex at Haldia in West Bengal is currently given. Reproduction of material in this information the only manufacturing unit for DAP/NPK complexes in product for or other commercial purposes is prohibited West Bengal. The acquisition of an equal partnership in without written permission of the copyright holders. Indo Maroc Phosphore S.A. (imacid) along with Chambal Applications for such permission should be addressed to Fertilisers and the global phosphate major, OCP of the Executive Director, Wildlife Trust of India or by e-mail Morocco recently, is the first step that TCL took towards to [email protected] globalisation. In early 2006, TCL acquired the UK based Brunner Mond Group (BM). This acquisition makes TCL Photo Credit (Plates): one of the most diversified companies with manufacturing Abdul Raheem:19 and 20; Asavari Sharma: 15; facilities in three continents and markets across the world. Dhiresh Joshi: 16b, 24 and 45; Diyadas: 12; Tata Chemicals Society for Rural Development (TCSRD) P. Dhanapal: 10, 13, 16c & d, 31, 33 and 42 was established by Tata Chemicals in 1980 for the benefit Goutam S: 3,4,5,6,18,28,32,34,38,39,44 and 46 of the rural population in an around the company’s Khaleed: T: 21a, 23, 30 and 41; Manoj Matwal: 23 plants and township. Over the years it has initiated a and 25, Praveenkumar: 9 and 11; Subburaman S: number of development, welfare and relief activities. 2,7,14,16e&f, 17,21b, 22, 26,29,36,40 and 43 Venkatesh: 1 and 16a Layout by: Dilip Swain/John Kunjukunju Printed at: Lipee Scan Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi ii CONTENTS Message iv Foreword v Preface vi Acknowledgements vii Executive Summary 01 Chapter 1: Mithapur Reef: An Introduction 06 Chapter 2: Monitoring: Biodiversity Assessment and Oceanographical Parameters 10 Chapter 3: Experimental Acropora sp. Coral Transportation and Transplantation 38 &KDSWHU$UWL¿FLDO5HHI%XLOGLQJDW0LWKDSXU Chapter 5: Community Participation in Coral Restoration Activities 59 Chapter 6: Coral Spawning and Monitoring at Gujarat and Lakshadweep 62 Chapter 7: Future Plan: Mithapur Reef Recovery 66 Appendix 73 References 91 6FLHQWL¿F3XEOLFDWLRQV Other WTI Publications 100 iii Dr. C. N. Pandey, IFS, Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (WL) and Chief Wildlife Warden Gujarat. Message I am happy to have seen the technical report brought out by the Wildlife Trust of India on their scientific work carried out for securing the coral reef of the Mithapur coast on the Gulf of Kachchh region in Gujarat. The coral reef science is relatively young in India and Coral restoration is much younger. In this context, the attempt by the Wildlife Trust of India marine research team is praiseworthy. While the Gulf of Kachchh Marine National Park authority have been protecting and managing the coastal and marine biodiversity of this important marine area, it is gratifying to note that the corporate have also joined hands with Gujarat Forest Department and Non-Governmental Organization like Wildlife Trust of India to protect and restore the coral reefs closer to their area of operation- i.e. the Mithapur Salt works. The Wildlife Trust of India have made detailed survey and inventorisation of the marine biodiversity of the Mithapur reef and have disseminated the information in beautifully produced series of posters targeted at the school and college students. They have also joined hands with the local fishing community, coast guard, navy and the general public to educate everybody about the coral reef and even have ventured successfully to initiate coral rescue and rehabilitation programme by creating artificial reef beds. The most enterprising attempt by the WTI's marine team however, is the experiment to transplant Acropora humilis species in to the Mithapur and Laku reef of Gulf of Kachchh after bringing from lakshadweep waters. I am given to understand that this is the longest distance coral transportation, translocation and transplanting attempt in the world which was taken up to achieve some degree of success and deserves to be complimented. Such public–private collaborative projects facilitated by scientific organizations are the much needed inclusive management practice in the coastal and marine environment which are in the Common Property Rescue Regime and requires innovative co-management approaches. I wish Wildlife Trust of India to enhance their collaborations and continue to work in the future for a better and secured coast in India. Date: 20th June, 2014 (Dr. C. N. Pandey) iv FOREWORD Coral reefs are an important ecosystem around the world. Also known as rainforests- of-the-sea, they harbour immense biological wealth. Yet in India, very little seems to have been done to revive or even save this unique ecosystem historically. The Gujarat Forest Department, the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) and Tata Chemicals Limited (TCL) pioneered a crucial project to restore coral ecosystems in the state, after beginning and continuing collaboration through whale shark conservation. The field of study was home itself for TCL in Mithapur town. Beginning with creating an inventory of the biodiversity in Mithapur reef, the project also evaluated threats, took actions to mitigate them and even worked at spreading awareness on this important ecosystem. The highlight of the project was the unprecedented attempt to transplant locally-extirpated coral species as well as to enrich reef health through restoration activities including placement of artificial substrates for the corals to extend their reach. Despite being a new initiative, much has been achieved over the past five years that the project has been in existence. We continue our efforts to conserve the coral reef of Mithapur and also create a model for replication in coral reef restoration elsewhere. This publication outlines the initiatives undertaken over the past five years by our collaborative project, its successes, difficulties, and the way forward. R. Mukundan Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Limited v PREFACE India has a history of 2500 years of terrestrial conservation. Arthashastra documents Gajavanas or elephant forests and ever since Ashokan inscripts and royal decrees abound on saving wild animals and their forests. The birds of Vedanthangal, the lion of Gir, the shikargahs of Kashmir, all have a long history of protection and so do sacred groves and community forests. What is completely missing out in this remarkable panoply of conservation in India is that of the marine nation. The sea and its creatures have always got the short shrift and the first fish (the whale shark) was protected only a few years ago. Corals likewise, tropical forests of the ocean, have never been under traditional protection systems and even the extension of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 to them and the Indian Forest Service to look at them (Are seas forests? some may argue) is relatively recent. The coral reefs around Mithapur are a case in point. They are within the Tata Chemicals arena of work for long and the company has wanted to protect them as also allow access and interpretation to local communities. WTI in collaboration with them and the Gujarat Forest Department has worked on this project to monitor, restore and interpret the corals of Mithapur. The first is routine work, the second path breaking and the third exhilarating. So let me concentrate on the latter two. Transplanting corals over a few kilometres have been done by scientists around the world but this project demonstrated that Acropora, a reef building coral that had gone extinct due to an El–Nino effect at Mithapur could be got from Lakshadweep, many hundreds of kilometres away and that they could survive for several months.