PANJIM: Goa government has collaborated with a German-funded project which seeks to study the eco-tourism potential of Goa’s coastal and marine areas, Environment Minister Alina Saldanha said on Friday.
“A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been executed with MSGIZ, a government of Germany funded project on coastal and marine areas for comprehensive development of Goa’s eco-tourism potential,” Alina informed during the valedictory function of wildlife awareness campaign 2014 held Friday morning.
The minister also said that the department has partnered with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in a project on productivity of mangrove eco-system in Dr Salim Ali Bird sanctuary, the only protected bird sanctuary in the State.
Alina said that the recent wildlife census conducted by the Forest department has proved that Goa is emerging as a bio-diversity hot spot for variety of species.
The Minister claimed that Goa has an area of 755 sq kms of land constituted as wild life protected in the form of national parks and sanctuaries which provides a safe haven for wildlife. “The small state of Goa occupies a significant place in the Western Ghats, a mega bio-diversity hotspot,” Alina said.
On the occasion coffee table book ‘Bio-Diversity in Goa – a concise filed Guide’ and Goa Forest Newsletter were released.
Earlier, Chief Wildlife Warden Richard D’Souza said that that several species which
exist in the Western Ghats region of Goa are yet to be identified, though every year, new species are discovered by wildlife experts.
Pointing out that Goa is the only State which has protected its entire Western Ghats by constituting wildlife sanctuaries, D’Souza said that successive governments have helped the department in securing these areas for posterity. “These jungles not only protect animals but most importantly protect soil and water because all our river system originates in the ghats. If we damage the ghats, then all our rivers will dry up,” he said.
He also said that the
tiger is at the top of the food chain and if made extinct everything down the line would be affected.
