Indian primatologists oppose Great Nicobar project, express concern for endemic macaques

The Association of Indian Primatologists has warned that the Great Nicobar Island Development Project could severely endanger the endemic Nicobar long-tailed macaque and disrupt the island’s ecosystem irreversibly.

In a statement shared with Scroll on Wednesday, the collective of researchers said the Wildlife Conservation Plan being prepared as part of the project fails to address the gravity of threats to the endemic species.

“We are bound by morality and ethics to state that we can no longer remain a mute spectator and be a party to the brutalities to be inflicted upon the island and the species thereof,” the group stated. “We stand in absolute opposition to the Great Nicobar Project.”

The plan was a condition for the environmental clearance granted to the project on November 11, 2022, and was to be submitted within 15 days of clearance. The task was assigned to the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON), now operating as the Wildlife Institute of India’s South India centre.

The project proponent, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Integrated Development Corporation Limited, told the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change that SACON has prepared a conservation and management plan for the macaque, robber crab and other endemic species for a 30-year period, with a cumulative conservation budget of...

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