Dr Manoj-Sumati R. Borkar
Recently I was invited by the international NGO Earth Day Network for a ‘Beach Cleanup Drive’ at Anjuna, as also to share my views on increasing marine litter. I did painstakingly collect a bag full of non-degradable litter and quoted Rachel Carson who famously lamented that ‘the sea from which the life arose, is set to die at the hands of one of those that arose from the sea!
And I began wondering, that if we were to take the Arabian sea out of our sobit mannkulem Goem; then our history, geography, meteorology, ecology, economy, cuisine; and perhaps even politics would have been very different. Goa is what it is because of its maritime constitution and character.
Ever wondered what pulls the domestic and international tourists to this small state, like iron fillings to a magnet? We owe our status as a preferred leisure destination to our proximity with the sea and the 101 km long stretch of sun-kissed shore that turns on the wanderlust of tourists.
Our 450 years of colonial subjugation to Portugal was also a consequence of our connect with the sea. The south-west monsoons that descend on the Western Ghats and drives our agro-economy is surely the boon of the sea.
Further that Goa is only one among the very few Indian states that offers nesting habitat to the Olive Ridley Turtles (an IUCN assessed ‘Vulnerable’ category and Schedule I species under IWPA, 1972) on its coastline. And surely the uninterrupted fresh supply of sea food for our cuisine is the gift of the sea too!
The melody of Buyao’s Channyachea ratee, Madanchya sawlent and Lorna’s Kitlem sobit tu, Goa amche would not have found the lyrical inspiration without the sea ever.
In fact, that the coconut a fruit of the quintessentially sea-loving palm could evoke sentiments of Goemkarponn and elevate the proponent of this political symbolism, itself is a strong testimony of the power of the sea and the influence that it wields on the socio- cultural and political space of this state!
Eau de Mer of the Arabian Sea is a gratis endowment that nature has blessed our state with and we reap multitude of benefits from this resource; that make our lives easier, happier and celebratory. The sea shores of Goa have been embossed firm in our projected image as ‘land of the sun, sand and sea’.
Fun loving, tolerant and an extremely hospitable civil society that we are hailed to be; regrettably we have allowed indiscriminate, unregulated and laissez-faire access to this fragile linear stretch of coastline. It is an irony of sorts that Goa has the headquarters of the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography, replete with scientific expertise on all aspects of Oceanography, yet not all is well within our marine jurisdictional limits.
The shores comprising of intertidal zone have an ecological continuum with the sea and teem with diverse life forms, sizzling with energy transfers, but chronically assaulted by land-based
pollutants.
In Goa, the shores are invaded by tourism infrastructure grossly indifferent to the ecological concerns and statutory advisories issued by competent authorities. The recent censure of the GCZMA by the NGT for dragging feet on demolitions of illegal encroachments on turtle nesting sites along Goa’s shoreline makes for an interesting case of eco-jurisprudence. Goa has long reached the tipping point in its unregulated beach tourism. Even the popular dolphin trips at Aguada Bay, crocodile dundees in the backwaters of Cumbarjua, coral snorkeling trips at Grande island are casually offered by tour operators sans any ethical code of Wildlife Tourism, further stressing the ecosystem.
Today our Goan shores and sea are a sink of tourism waste, some degradable and a lot non-degradable. Single use plastics enter the sea faster than ever, swelling into translucent gelatinous mass often mistaken by the turtles for Jelly fish and consumed, plastic straws getting jammed in nostrils of these unsuspecting reptiles causing excruciating pain and bleeding, plastic aggregates breaking into micro-plastics that enter food chains and finally enter our bodies disrupting metabolism; are some of the
impacts.
Of course, raw sewage flushed into the sea from the sewers without tertiary treatment pose a serious health hazard to the seafood loving population of the Goa, including outbreaks of listeriosis!
With monsoons approaching fast, the dynamics of the sea shall soon change.
Currents, tides, waves and upwelling will churn the sea water column, bringing water from the deep to the surface, and along with it the recalcitrant fraction of the debris. This then could get strewn on the shore defiling vast expanse of the coastline marring tourism appeal.
During monsoons, intermittently the sea is infested with stinging jelly fish that can cause allergy and even death in hypersensitive individuals. The proliferation of these organisms is attributed to enrichment of sea by land-based nutrients that flow in; besides raised
temperature.
Tar balls are a regular menace on Goa’s shore caused by discharge of oil in the high seas by rogue vessels.
Every year Goan shores get fouled with these gooey black deposits that smell of petroleum hydrocarbons. For all the benevolence that the sea bestows on us, we are at least obliged to reciprocate with a sense of responsibility in the way we relate to it.
We can surely refuse and reduce the use of non-recyclables, prefer degradable material, treat our wastes before discharge, leave biodiverse stretches of the shore inviolate and sensitize our visitors to be respectful of our seas.
Shed a tear and a bit of sweat today, if you want to preserve the sea for tomorrow !
