This briefer documents the concerns of Indigenous coastal communities with the offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu in South India. While the communities have limited to no awareness of the government processes and procedures regarding the projects, their key concerns include:
- Commodification of Mother Ocean (kadalthai / kadalmatha / kadalamma)
- Loss of ocean rights
- Impacts on livelihoods
- Destruction of marine life
- Disruption of migratory marine mammals and birds
- Other environmental impacts
- Impacts on food security and leisure activities
The communities have accordingly stressed that no energy project in the Gulf of Mannar should proceed without their meaningful engagement and consent.
