Ministry of Environment and Forests scraps radar installation project on Narcondam Island

Wildlife activists and conservation organizations have praised Ministry of Environment and Forests' (MoEF) move to reject a proposal by the Indian Coast Guard to erect a surveillance radar installation on Narcondam Island in the Andamans.

According ornithologists, the Narcondam Hornbill is found as a single population of less than 350 birds endemic to and exclusively found on the tiny (681 ha) island of Narcondam.

This small and unique island harbors the world's only population of Narcondam hornbill species. Studies by the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), Coimbatore had suggested that their population is on a sharp decline.

The proposal by the Indian Coast Guard to build a surveillance radar installation and a diesel power generation station on the island drew lot of flak from conservationists. The project proposal included new constructions on the island and paving a two kilometer wide road.

MOEF's decision to reject the project was the outcome of an intensive campaign by scientists, NGOs and wildlife enthusiasts who wrote to the minister, Jayanthi Natarajan about the endangered bird and the significance of the island's biodiversity in June.