Swathi Kalyani, a marine pollution expert from the Takshashila Institution, joins to discuss pressing oil spill incidents off Kerala's coast. She delves into the challenges of current oil spill management strategies and the critical need for improved coordination among response agencies. The conversation highlights the role of technology, advocating for advanced satellites and drones to enhance monitoring. Swathi also emphasizes the importance of updating India's oil spill disaster contingency plan to protect marine biodiversity and coastal communities from future threats.
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insights INSIGHT
Oil Spills Are A Persistent Coastal Threat
Oil spills are highly visible and cause immediate harm to marine biodiversity and coastal livelihoods.
India faces recurring incidents near its long coastline, making this a persistent environmental and economic risk.
insights INSIGHT
Environmental And Livelihood Damage Is Immediate
Oil spills cause low-oxygen zones that kill marine life and damage fisheries.
Coastal communities lose daily livelihoods for months while restoration proceeds.
question_answer ANECDOTE
MSC Chitra Collision Example
The 2010 MSC Chitra collision off Mumbai released pesticides and fertilizers and led to fires and long cleanup.
Hazardous cargo beyond hydrocarbons complicates removal and ecological response.
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On May 25, Liberia-flagged MSC Elsa 3 sank around 15 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala. Only a few days later, a Singapore-flagged MV Wan Hai 503 caught fire off the coast of Kerala. Two such incidents around India's coastal waters are not a rare phenomenon. There have been multiple such incidents in the seas and oceans surrounding India’s long coastline, posing various risks to marine life as well as to coastal communities. Notwithstanding the multiple agencies, such as the Indian Coast Guard and the Indian Navy, that spring into action following such incidents, is India doing enough to tackle oil spills?
To discuss these issues, Lokendra Sharma, a researcher with Takshashila’s High-Tech Geopolitics Programme, sits down with Swathi Kalyani, a researcher with the Takshashila’s Geospatial Programme, and Tannmay Kumarr Baid, who’s also associated with Takshashila’s High-Tech Geopolitics Programme.
Tune in to learn more about the institutions involved in oil spills, the problem of depending on ISRO's multi-purpose satellite, the need for India-specific modelling and the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan.
All Things Policy is a daily podcast on public policy brought to you by the Takshashila Institution, Bengaluru.
All Things Policy