CHENNAI: With climate change affecting endangered species, the State government has announced to constitute Tamil Nadu Endangered Species Conservation Fund with a corpus of Rs 50 crore.
The Budget announcement said that due to the vagaries of climate change, certain endangered species are on the verge of extinction in the world.
The need for conservation of these species has been stressed upon by many agencies, including International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The corpus fund will be constituted with government contribution of Rs 5 crore in the first phase, along with contributions from government entities, donations under corporate social responsibility, national and international funds.
Environment, Forest and Climate Change department secretary Supriya Sahu said that rare endangered and threatened but lesser known species like Pangolins, Otters, Purple Frogs, Nilgiri martens, Slender loris, Lion tailed Macaques, dugongs and others in Tamil Nadu would be protected through a unique species recovery Fund.
"The 'TN-SHORE (Neithal Meetchi Iyakkam)' has been sanctioned at an estimated cost of Rs.1,675 crore. The Mission aims to restore coastal resources across 14 coastal districts of Tamil Nadu covering a stretch of 1,076 km. Enhancement of coastal biodiversity, coastal protection, improving livelihoods of coastal communities and pollution control in coastal areas are the four major aims of this mission," another announcement said.
Meanwhile, an announcement has been made to obtain Blue Flag certification for major beaches across the State including Marina in Chennai, Ariyaman in Ramanathapuram, Kayalpattinam in Thoothukudi, Kodavilai in Tirunelveli, Kameswaram in Nagapattinam, Kattumavadi in Pudukkottai, Silver beach in Cuddalore and Marakkanam in Villupuram. The beaches will be developed at an estimated cost of Rs.250 crore.
It may be noted that Kovalam beach in Chengalpattu district has been certified as Blue Flag beach.
"The government shall take proactive measures to control plastic pollution by involving youth from coastal communities in plastic waste management, disposal of abandoned and discarded fishing gears, and implement circular economy solutions in plastic waste hotspots," the Budget announcement said.