Mannar Island
Map: World
Current relevance:
Mannar
Island is in news
because local communities have raised concerns about the possible ecological
and livelihood impacts of existing and proposed wind-energy projects,
including effects on coastal ecosystems, drainage, fisheries and migratory
birds.
Continent:
Mannar
Island is located in Sri Lanka in South Asia, Asia. It forms part of
Mannar District in Sri Lanka's Northern Province and is connected to mainland
Sri Lanka by a causeway.
Bordering Countries:
It
lies close to India, particularly Tamil Nadu and Rameswaram,
across the Palk Bay–Gulf of Mannar region.
Water Bodies:
Mannar
lies along Sri Lanka's northwestern coast. Locate the Gulf of Mannar to
the south/southwest and Palk Bay towards the north, with India's Rameswaram
region lying across the sea to the northwest.
Significance of Mannar
Island:
1.
Strategic
location: Mannar
occupies an important position on Sri Lanka's northwestern coast close to
southern India, with the official development plan highlighting the short
distance between Talaimannar and Rameswaram.
2.
Renewable-energy
potential: Government
planning documents identify Mannar as having significant potential for wind
and solar energy, owing to its geographical and climatic conditions.
3.
Rich
marine resources:
Mannar's southern coast faces the Gulf of Mannar, which official
planning documents identify as a highly biodiverse and productive coastal
region supporting important marine resources and fisheries.
4.
Migratory
bird importance: The
nearby Vankalai Sanctuary, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance,
provides important feeding and staging habitats for large numbers of migratory
waterbirds, including greater flamingos.
5.
Diverse
coastal ecosystems: The
Mannar landscape contains mangroves, lagoons, salt marshes, tidal flats,
seagrass beds, sand dunes and shallow marine habitats, giving the region
high ecological significance.
Source:
THE HINDU