Have you ever turned your attention to the softly undulating sand dunes when you visited Goa Owing to its long coastline bordering the Arabian Sea, the state has a wonderful dune ecosystem that has formed over hundreds of years and these need to be protected.
Now Goa is set to be home to the country&rsquos first sand dune park under a project funded by The World Bank which has accepted the proposal of the Biodiversity Board of the state and has sanctioned a sum of 3 crores for the project.
Even the National Green Tribunal had urged the Public Works Department of Goa and other relevant authorities of the state to take immediate measures to restore and regenerate the sand dune ecosystem of the state.
This project will benefit both the economy of the state as well as play a constructive role in creating awareness about the sand dune ecosystem.
There are many such sand dune parks across the world, such as the Great Sand Dunes National Park in the US, some of which are complex geologic stories going back millions of years. Dune management involves restoring eroded areas and stabilising others using vegetation and fencing in order to help, not obstruct, the dune-forming processes to conserve the ecosystem.
The sand dune project in Goa will build bridges made of eco-sensitive materials which will protect the sand dune vegetation from being trampled upon by tourists. Several interpretation and thematic centres will educate visitors about the importance of the sand dune ecosystems and the need to conserve them. Nurseries of sand dune vegetation will be set up. Vegetation will be restored where it has been eroded on beach stretches. This move follows the efforts of the state to shift towards an eco-friendly tourism approach.