Institute of Environmental Studies Wetland Management Project ...

and water providing natural food for estuarine fish, prawns, crab species. Besides thedense mangrove forests of the Sunderban also provide shelter and nursery ground forthe fry and fingerlings and the juveniles of the estuarine and offshore species. However,the entire coastal ecosystem of Sundarban is fragile in nature and it is on the thresholdof change due to natural and man induced processes. The salinity profile of the IndianSundarban is on the increase as a consequence of change in course of River Ganges.Because of this some of the mangrove species (such as Herittierafomes) is facingextinction. Necessary municipal services to treat the wastes are however yet to developto a satisfactory level. As a consequence the threat of pollution of the coastal stretches ishigh. It is imperative therefore regular and on-the-spot chemical and biological analysisespecially of coastal water are carried out to have an insight into the level of pollution,organize site-specific measures and ultimately make it a part of the integrated coastalzone management of West Bengal coast. Since the coastal areas of West Bengalespecially the Sundarban part are not readily accessible and far from the areas where anoff-site laboratory could be set up, the necessity of procuring a mobile laboratory havingthe facilities of some basic analysis is justified. Data produced through such analysis willbe utilized for climate change study.It has been envisaged that such a mobile laboratory could be built on a truck chassisfitted with furniture and equipment / instruments, electrical wiring, water supplypipelines, wash basins etc. There will be a single outlet point of electrical line, where anelectrical connection will be made during operation. Similar is the case with watersupply. In normal condition this mobile laboratory will be kept at the head quarter inKolkata. But during the period of sampling for investigation and monitoring, the mobilelaboratory will move to the field and electrical connection, water supply connections etc.will be made. In case, electrical connection is not available, diesel generator will bepressed into service and water supply will be made using a mini pump. All instrumentsand equipment will be firmly strapped within the laboratory body so that these do notget damaged during transportation. Initial estimated cost of the mobile laboratory is`60.40 lakhs.Social Screening, R & R and need for land acquisitionThe field monitoring equipment are to be procured under this program will be deployedat sites within coastal part of West Bengal especially in Sundarbans under thesupervision of scientific staff members of IESWM. The laboratory equipment will beinstalled in the already existing laboratory facilities of IESWM. It will not involve anyacquisition of private land and will not affect the community adversely. Hence socialscreening and drawing up of R & R plan as mandated by the World Bank are not requiredin the present context.Apart from general strengthening of the facilities in the RS & GIS laboratory, suchaugmentation will support building up of a model of coastal response in both form andprocess elements in the Sundarban in the face of an on-going climate change on aregional basis.Environmental AssessmentsThe implementation of the project will not have any bearing on ecology and environmentof the locality. The design and minor modifications of the laboratory space will involveonly minor indoor renovation works. The running of the instruments will not involvehazardous activities and storage or use of harmful substances, neither will there be anyharmful emission/generation of air/water/solid waste. Construction and operation ofpermanent tide gauge stations are not likely to pose any adverse environmental impactas these stations are small in size to be located on estuaries themselves. There is noneed for a detailed environmental assessment.