Plans are afoot to declare the boundary of the protected areas of Bhitarkanika wildlife Sanctuary, Bhitarkanika National Park and Gahirmatha (Marine) wildlife division as Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). Notably, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) earlier on October 21 last has issued a draft notification of making the area within 2 km of the bio-diversity hotspot as an ESZ. At least 446.4 sqkm area will come under the zone, stated Rajnagar Mangrove (Forest) and Wildlife Division DFO Kedar Kumar Swain. The MoEF has also asked that any person interested to submit any objections or suggestions on the proposals related to the draft notification may do it within a period 60 days( till December 20) from the date on which the Gazette of India containing this notification was published. As the stipulated period for submitting of objections and suggestions for the draft notification has ended, so the forest personnel expect that the MoEF would declare the sanctuary an ESZ very shortly, informed forest official sources. In the draft notification, it has been shown that the Rajnagar Mangrove Forest Division comprises three protected areas including the Bhitarkanika National Park, the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary and the Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary. A two-km ring from the limit of these protected areas has been proposed as ESZ. As many as 45 villages in Bhadrak and another 147 in Kendrapara district fall within the zone where restrictions would come into force on a host of activities once the notification is final. All these villages will be guided by the notification. The notification lists out 33 different kinds of activities categorized as Prohibited/Regulated/Permitted. As per the ESZ plan, all existing and new mining - minor and major minerals - will be prohibited except for domestic use by local residents. Similarly, there will be a ban on new polluting industries as well as expansion of existing ones. An identical prohibition will also be levied on commercial establishments such as hotels and resorts. Establishment of new hydro-electric power plants, dams, tunnels and construction of reservoirs will be prohibited except for micro hydel power projects with a capacity of 100 kilowatt (kw) or mini ones (with a capacity between 101 kw to 2,000 kw) to serve the energy needs of local communities. This will, however, require gram sabha’s consent and required clearances. Plastic carry bags, production and use of hazardous substances, discharge of untreated effluents, new wood-based industry and all kinds of construction activities will be prohibited. Under the ESZ, extraction of surface and ground water will be allowed only for agriculture and domestic purposes while those for industrial or commercial use will require permission from regulatory authorities.However, sale of surface water will not be permitted. A host of green activities and eco-friendly technologies will be permitted. Eco-tourism facilities like home-stays, rope-ways, kiosks and security camps will be regulated under the ESZ. Similarly, land use patterns of forests, horticulture and agriculture areas, parks and open spaces earmarked for recreational purposes cannot be converted for commercial and industrial-related development activities. Farm land, though, can be converted for residential use by locals but with permission of the State-level ESZ Monitoring Committee. The same procedure applies for using tribal land for commercial or industrial development purpose. Movement of vehicular traffic will be regulated within the ESZ area. According to DFO Swain, the protected area having estuarine and marine ecosystem is a highly productive ecosystem. The rich biodiversity can be judged from the presence of species diversity having 61 species of invertebrates like protozoa- two species, coelenterates- three species, annelids-34 species, arthopoda-15 species, and vertebrates like fish-20 species, amphibians-five species and reptile-42 species, birds more than 280 species and mammals 28 species, including cetaceans.The bio diversity of area is one of the highest having 71 species of mangroves.