The Hindu Business Line : Protecting the wetlands in Kerala

LAST week saw the launch of preliminary work by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for the preparation of a comprehensive project for the preservation of Vembanad Lake, Kerala's largest lake. Covering an area of 200 sq km, the lake lies at sea level and borders Alappuzha, Kottayam, and Ernakulam districts, and is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island.

Vembanad Lake is one of the water bodies known as a `Ramsar site', that is, one listed in The Convention on Wetlands, signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971, and commonly called the Ramsar Convention.

The Convention is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and international co-operation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources. There are currently 146 signatories to the treaty, with 1,461 wetland sites, totalling 125.4 million hectares, designated for inclusion in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance.

`Wetland' is a general term applied to land areas that are seasonally or permanently waterlogged, including lakes, rivers, estuaries, and freshwater marshes. Such areas of low-lying land submerged or inundated periodically by fresh or saline water are common in Kerala.

Wetlands protect terrestrial areas adjoining them from storms, floods and tidal damage. Additionally, the plants in wetlands help filter pollutants in the water.

As last year's Indian Ocean tsunami demonstrated, wetlands may have provided a green barrier to protect coastlines and the coastal communities that live there. There have been localised and anecdotal reports from around the Indian Ocean region of how the damaging impact of the tsunami was reduced behind mangrove stands and coral reefs.

The Vembanad Lake project is therefore a welcome recognition of the important role of wetlands. As Ramsar site No. 1,214 (another lake in Kerala, Ashtamudi, is Ramsar site No. 1,204), Vembanad is the largest brackish, humid tropical wetland ecosystem on the southwest coast and the second biggest in the country after Chilka Lake in Orissa.

Fed by 10 rivers and typical of large estuarine systems on the western coast, it is renowned for its clams, and supports the third largest waterfowl population in India during the winter months. Over 90 species of resident birds and 50 species of migratory birds are found in the lake area.

Flood protection for the thickly populated coastal areas of the three districts of Kerala that border the lake will be a major benefit. Also, it helps recharge groundwater in the region. Apart from all that, the importance of Vembanad Lake for the local transport of people and goods is considerable.

According to official sources quoted in The Hindu, the proposed project will seek to control the pollution of the lake without affecting the livelihood of the people who reside by its shores. Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and local civil society groups will be involved in implementing the project.

An official team is likely to visit Kuttanad later to collect more data for the project from farmers, agricultural workers, fishermen and other sections of the population around the lake.

This people-centred and collaborative approach is another welcome sign. If it can be sustained, once again Kerala will set a standard for others in environmental protection.

The writer can be contacted at kgkumar@gmail.com

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