🌍 Empower Earth’s Guardians, Don’t Rob Them 🌱
A troubling reality unfolds in the lush, biodiverse paradise of Southern Nicobar—one that threatens both nature and humanity’s most steadfast guardians. A unilateral decision to establish three wildlife sanctuaries in this region risks depriving the indigenous Shompen tribes of their ancestral territories, the very lands they have stewarded for millennia.

The ₹72,000-crore mega infrastructure project on Great Nicobar, now set to include an international cruise terminal and shipbreaking yard, signals devastating consequences for this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. It jeopardizes the delicate balance of life that has persisted for centuries.

 
Conservation or Colonialism?
In May 2022, the Andaman and Nicobar administration issued public notices proposing three wildlife sanctuaries:

1)A coral sanctuary at Meroë Island
2)A megapode sanctuary at Menchal Island
3)A leatherback turtle sanctuary on Little Nicobar Island
This decision was made without the consent of the indigenous peoples, disregarding their land ownership, resource management systems, and rights. Despite their pleas and a formal letter from the Little & Great Nicobar Tribal Council, the administration went ahead with notifications in October 2022, designating these areas as wildlife sanctuaries.

 
Masking an Ecological Disaster
This conservation narrative hides the catastrophic impact of the Great Nicobar mega project:

1)More than 8–10 lakh evergreen forest trees will be lost.
2)Coral reefs in Galathea Bay will be smothered and gouged out.
3)Endangered Leatherback turtles will lose critical nesting grounds.
4)Nicobar Megapode nesting mounds will be destroyed.
5)Crocodile habitats will be wiped out.

The selection of Menchal and Meroë Islands for sanctuaries raises questions about the scientific basis of these choices. For instance, Menchal has only a pair or two of Megapode birds, and the diversity of corals at Meroë remains uncertain.

These so-called sanctuaries appear to serve as a smokescreen for the environmental damage caused by denotifying the Galathea Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, clearing the path for industrial expansion.

 
The Human Toll
Beyond environmental loss, the indigenous Shompen tribes, classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), will face irreversible displacement:

Their foraging and hunting grounds will be destroyed.
Ancestral lands, unjustly labeled as “no-man’s-land,” will be lost.
Three or more Shompen settlements will be uprooted.
Islanders’ efforts to rebuild post-tsunami lives will be thwarted.
These lands are not empty spaces—they are the heart of a people’s existence, history, and culture.

 
Support Earth’s True Guardians
Indigenous peoples, who make up 5% of the global population, protect 80% of the planet’s biodiversity. Their territories, covering 22% of Earth’s land surface, are proof of their enduring wisdom and harmony with nature.

The Shompen and other Great Nicobar islanders are not obstacles to conservation—they are its champions. They understand these ecosystems better than any outsider ever could.

Instead of robbing them, we must empower them to continue their stewardship. Reason and justice demand that their voices be heard, their rights respected, and their wisdom valued.

 
🌿 Join the Movement for Justice 🌿
It’s time we prioritize sustainable development over profit. Let’s raise our voices to protect the Shompen, the Leatherback turtles, the Megapodes, the coral reefs, and the pristine forests of Nicobar. Together, we can ensure a future where nature thrives alongside its guardians.