Gujarat’s Kharai camels are famed for their ability to swim long distances and make themselves comfortable in the remote mangrove creeks of Kachchh, but they are on their last legs because of official indifference and major habitat loss.

The fate of these iconic animals has taken a dire turn in recent years, as camel herders encounter illegal salt pans replacing several square kilometres of mangroves, leaving fewer trees on which they can feed and water spaces to cool off.

Habitat loss and alleged pollution impact

If the alarming claim made by a pastoralist before the National Green Tribunal is true, a large group of over 25 Kharai camels perished in 2023 from toxicity in water created by the release of effluents into a village pond by the oil giant ONGC, with no follow-up action.

More clarity on the crisis can be expected when the NGT takes up the matter on June 19, although the loss of so many camels, which occupy a unique place with their ability to adapt to both desert and coastal ecosystems, was totally preventable. The loss is felt acutely by herder communities, who have been farming the species both for economic and cultural reasons.

NGT interventions and mangrove decline

It must be pointed out that the loss of mangroves has been engaging the NGT for many years now, and orders were issued in 2020 to the Gujarat Forest Department, Coastal Zone Management Authority, and revenue authorities to stop illegal saltpan expansion and identify the people blocking the creeks so vital to sustaining the mangrove ecosystem.

The state was also tasked with recovering lost area — which was estimated by the Indian State Forest Survey 2023 to be an astounding 61.14 sq km — and rewilding it with mangroves.

Low policy priority despite ecological value

India’s natural heritage is made up of innumerable species, big and small, but only a few charismatic animals get the most visibility. Gujarat’s lions, the tiger, the elephant, and the recently reintroduced cheetahs command a great deal of attention.

Kharai camels were recognised as a special breed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research a decade ago, but they are apparently far below on the priority list for policymakers.

Need for urgent conservation action

This is clear from the manner in which Gujarat has failed to respond to calls from herders and conservationists alike for their conservation. Located away from media glare, the remote coasts of Kachchh have lost a shocking 67% of mangroves in just five years from 2018, which amounts to 2,772 hectares.

Ironically, profit should be a strong incentive to save the swimming camels, as their milk is sought by many for assumed therapeutic properties. But this is not a species that can be bred in a pen and needs a free-ranging habitat full of mangroves to thrive.

The Deendayal Port Trust has been blamed for not regulating salt pan licences tightly. Mindless oil effluent storage may have added to the losses. The camels need an urgent lifeline.

© Free Press Journal