Tourism, Conservation and Coastal Livelihoods: A Study of Olive Ridley Nesting Beaches in Agonda and Galgibag, South Goa

Abstract

Coastal Goa is a place where wildlife conservation, tourism and local livelihoods meet, and sometimes collide. This paper examines the relationship between olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea) conservation and a tourism-dependent community at Agonda, a popular sea turtle nesting beach in South Goa, in comparison with the quieter sea turtle nesting site of Galgibag. Taking as its point of entry the High Court–ordered closure of coastal structures at Agonda in March 2025 for Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) violations, and the community’s response to it, the study draws on ethnographic observation and secondary data, Forest Department records, news reports and policy documents, to explore how conservation is negotiated among the Forest Department, tourism operators and locals. This study further documents the conservation practices at the study site: hatchery-based nest relocation, in situ protection, and seasonal regulation of light, noise and beach use, alongside the participatory role of local stakeholders. Comparing recorded egg numbers at Agonda and Galgibag, the paper finds consistently higher figures at Agonda, but argues, against a simple tourism-friendly reading, that this pattern reflects a combination of factors such as natal philopatry, monitoring effort, beach length and habitat, together with community participation rather than tourism or conservation effort alone. The paper concludes that abrupt regulatory closures, imposed without regard to their socio-economic impact, risk eroding the community cooperation on which conservation depends, and argues instead for a collaborative framework that reconciles CRZ compliance with livelihoods. It thereby offers a sociological account of conservation and human–wildlife coexistence on a tourism coast.