Marine National Parks - A Perfect Blend of Eco-Tourism and Conservation

Not only the animals which live on the surface of land that face danger from man and the environment, even the animals living under water need protection. There are certain species of plants, which grow under water, and are very important for the ecological balance and also provide food to many aquatic organisms. They face danger from the environmental pollution which is majorly caused by man.

To counter the damage to the life under the sea, India has created four areas in which preservation is provided to them.

There are four major Marine National Parks which are briefly introduced below:

• Gulf of Kutch Marine National Park

Lying on the southern shore of the Gulf of Kutch is India’s first marine national park. It was established as a marine park in 1982 and consists of 42 islands. Along with the marine plants and animals, during the monsoons, many varieties of migratory birds come to find a temporary abode amid the mangroves. An ample number of sea turtles, finless porpoise, corals and dungeon can be seen.

• Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park

At a distance of 10 km from the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu, is a group of 21 small islands along with coral reefs which constitute the Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park. Very diverse range of flora and fauna can be seen in the park. Mangroves flourish in abundance in the intertidal zones.

Certain endangered species like Dugong, Green Turtle and Olive Ridley Turtles are well fed through the park’s flora. Dugong is the most significant feature of the park. Other important marine organisms that inhabit the park are Cetaceans: Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, spinner dolphin and common dolphin. About one-fourth of the total fin fish species of India can be found here.

Tourists can see the aquatic life through the glass bottom boat rides.

• Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park

The park comes under the area of Wandoor which is a part of Andaman Islands. It is famous for being the entry point of the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park. The marine park is made up of 15 islands. Two of the 15 islands, Jolly Boys and Red Skin, are open for tourists and here the underwater life can be explored through boats with glass bottoms, scuba diving or snorkeling.

The park came into being in 1983 to preserve the corals and nesting sea turtles in under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. Many estuarine crocodiles can also be seen among the other aquatic varieties like the coconut crab, roseate tern, black-naped tern and the sooty tern. The islands are heavily covered with Mangroves.

• Rani Jhansi Marine National Park

It was established as a national park in 1996 and is situated in Ritchie’s Archipelago in Andaman and Nicobar islands. The area of the park covers three islands, namely, Lawrence Island, Henry Lawrence Island and Outram Island.

The prime attraction of the park is the fruit-eating species of bat. Crocodiles, Dugong are also popular inhabitants. The terrestrial moist forest and mangroves constitute the vegetation of the park.

To visit these parks, permission from the relevant authorities is necessary. One should access a good Indian travel guide which will further give details of the guidelines which one should follow in order to access these places. People having the intention of having an Indian tour should include these less known but very beautiful and calm life under the Indian waters.

The author is a travel fanatic, she loves to share her travel experience through her articles.