The document provides information about Great Nicobar Island, located in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. It describes the island's area, population, climate, ecosystems including tropical forests and coastal plains. It notes the island is home to endangered species and indigenous tribes. The document then summarizes a proposed development project for Great Nicobar Island that includes an international container port, airport, township, and power plant. However, environmental groups have raised concerns that the large-scale project will negatively impact the island's biodiversity through loss of forest cover and displacement of tribes. There are also issues with the environmental impact assessment for the project.

1. NAME:-
M.Sc. Environmental science and
sustainable management
Roll no.:- PESM2212

2. About Great Nicobar Island
(GNI)
 Great Nicobar is the southernmost and
largest of the Nicobar Islands of India,
north of Sumatra.
 Area: 921 km²
 Weather: 26 °C, Wind NE at 13 km/h,
85% Humidity
 Location: Bay of Bengal
 Population: 8,067 (2014)
 Pop. density: 8.8/km2 (22.8/sq. mi)
 Island groups: Andaman and Nicobar
Islands, Nicobar Islands
 Indira Point, earlier known as Pygmalion
Point, lies at the tip of the Great Nicobar
Island and is the southernmost point of the
country.

3.  It includes two national parks and a biosphere
reserve.
 The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve have a wide
spectrum of ecosystems consist of tropical wet
evergreen forests, mountain ranges reaching a
height of 642 m above sea level, and coastal
plains.
 Nicobar island has among the
best-preserved tropical forests in the world.
 Great Nicobar Island home to the Shompen and
Nicobarese tribes.

4.  It is home to nearly 650 species of flora and 330 species of
fauna And Including endemic species.
 To date, 11 species of mammals, 32 species of birds, 7
species of reptiles and 4 species of amphibians have been
found to be endemic.
such as
a. The Nicobar shrew,
b. The Nicobar long-tailed macaque
c. The Great Nicobar crested serpent eagle
d. The Nicobar paradise flycatcher
e. The Nicobar megapode

5. About Project
• Holistic Development of Great Nicobar
Islands in Andaman and Nicobar Islands’
project is being spearheaded by
the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Integrated Development
Corporation (ANIIDCO) under a vision plan
conceived by the NITI Aayog.
• Objective: Leveraging the locational
advantage of being on the international
sea route and develop GNI as
a sustainable, green, global destination
for business, trade, and leisure.
• Employment: The initiation of the project
will mark a steep rise in employment
opportunities.

6. Main Components of the Project
Component Features
International Container
Transhipment Terminal
(ICTT)
 It has the capacity to handle 14.2 million TEUs (units of cargo capacity):
 It will allow Great Nicobar to participate in the regional and global
maritime economy by becoming a major player in cargo transshipment.
 Development of a transshipment terminal would attract existing traffic
from ports along the eastern coast of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar, as
they form the primary catchment for transshipment terminals.
Greenfield International
Airport
 It would be developed as a “joint military-civil, dual-use airport”, under
the operational control of the Indian Navy and will cater to tourism as
well.
A Township
 It consists of a mixed-use development area that will link the
infrastructure facilities to complete the physical framework of the new
city.
Power-Plant
 A 450-MVA gas and solar power plant spread over 16,610 hectares in Great
Nicobar Islands

7. Issues with the EIA
Report:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.andaman.gov.in/admin-
pannel/whatsnew/1-1519-
Combined%2520EIA.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwi3zLGD5pX9AhWwSGwGHZWaBRcQFnoECBwQAQ&usg=AOv
Vaw0szUuRGCzX6kIRRhazB7cu
• Incorrect or Incomplete Information:
• The area of the island is mentioned in one place as 1,045 sq. km, while it is 910 sq. km
(the current official figure) in another.
• It was reported that the Galathea port area does not record any coral reefs, whereas
the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) study shows that the coral reef spread over 116
hectares in Galathea Bay.
• Galathea Bay is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback, the world’s
largest marine turtle—borne out by surveys done over three decades.
• 330 species of fauna are recorded in the island, while the same ZSI study puts the number
at more than double at 695.
• The EIA says in another place no migratory birds have been reported from Great Nicobar,
whereas it is well known that these islands are located along two globally significant bird
flyways and more than 40 species of migratory birds have been recorded from Great
Nicobar.

8. Issues Raised by Environmentalists:
• This project is likely to impact turtle and
megapode nesting sites and coral reefs at
the islands.
• Many reserved areas are expected to be de-
notified for the project including land
under Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve and a
tribal reserve.
• Close to 81.74% of the island is covered with national parks,
reserves and forests.
• The project will have a direct impact on the biodiversity.

9. The impact of this project on ecology
• Forest Diversion: Union Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change
(MoEFCC) has granted an in-principle
(Stage 1) clearance for the diversion of
130.75 sq km of forest in Great Nicobar
Island for the mega ₹72,000-crore project.
• It is one of the largest single such forest
diversions in recent times.
• It is nearly a quarter of all the forest
land diverted in the past three years
across the country and 65% of the 203 sq km
of forest land diverted in the three year
period 2015-18.
• Loss Of Forest Cover: It will see around
8.5 lakh trees in pristine rainforests
being felled, and the loss of 12 to 20
hectares of mangrove cover.
• Coral reef along the coast of the bay could
be destroyed by dredging while the port is
being constructed.

11.  Tribals are totally depending on forest for their dally
life. BUT after deforestation their life going to be so
hard.
 Displacement of Tribal Communities: The proposed
Development Plan fails to recognize the rights of the
tribals and falls short of expectations.
 It threatens to displace the ‘extremely vulnerable’
Shompen tribe as well deliver a significant blow to the
ecology of the island.
Impact on tribals

12. What will happen in future?
Near that region daily human activities are possible ?
• Volatility of the Area: In the wake of the
deadly Tsunami, the Earthquake Engineering
Research Institute (EERI) of the Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur prepared
a report which claimed that approximately 8-
metre-high waves hit the shores of Andaman on
December 26, 2004 as a result of which
a lighthouse on Indira Point, the southernmost
point of India, got submerged in water.
• This is a clear indication that the area is
extremely volatile and a slight tweak into
the normal indices could result in a
catastrophe.