Wetlands shrinking rapidly in Kerala, fallout can be terrible
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Kochi: Wetlands in Kerala shrank from 2.35 lakh hectares in 1990 to 1.6 lakh ha by 2011, notes S Girija Kumari, head of the University Institute of Technology, Kayamkulam, in the Feb edition of forest department's magazine Aaranyam.
She cited unchecked urbanisation, relentless consumerism and an ever-growing appetite for luxury as the reasons for its rapid depletion. With paddy giving way to commercial crops, wetlands' fabric also altered significantly, the report notes.
Scientists say, as with the new Aranmula project, wetlands will shrink further, sometimes with the dilution of laws.
"Paddy is supposed to be a wetland crop controlling hydrology in an area," said State Wetland Authority (SWA) former member K K Ramachandran.
"Unfortunately, Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules was reissued in 2017 which changed its definition in effect excluding paddy fields from that purview. We don't have a database to gauge the extent of wetlands reclaimed in each timeline. Kerala govt initially decided to classify wetlands of 2.5ha and above.
However, it was found that a large number fall under that classification. But I understand that the govt asked to identify only the largest 40 wetlands.
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The govt is delaying the process of notifying the wetlands' inventory. It seems they are set to notify 20 wetlands first. However, I'm doubtful since SWA is not serious about enforcement of powers," he said.
National Centre for Earth Science Studies ex-scientist K V Thomas said Kerala Conservation of Paddy Land and Wetland Act was largely diluted, benefiting both politicians and businessmen mutually. "Earlier, the act allowed reclaiming wetland and paddy fields by a poor family to construct a house.
With the extent of area increased, anyone can reclaim the land. The Act's dilution happened twice in the last eight years.
Similar dilutions happened in the CRZ Act too, where Pokkali fields' definition was removed from it. It resulted in a large wetland network being excluded from the protection of CRZ notification. Wetlands and paddy fields are flood plains. When an ecosystem's continuity is lost through reclamation, flooding — whether downstream/upstream — will be a threat.
Groundwater recharge will be affected and temperature will rise due to construction," warned Thomas.
State Biodiversity Board chairman N Anil Kumar said. "Reclamation of ecologically important places will affect fish breeding grounds. Wetlands attract migratory birds which fly thousands of kilometres for breeding. If there is no healthy system for its breeding, it will further impact their population. The local conversion has a global impact. Ramsar sites are declared for that purpose. It's important to declare more wetlands as Ramsar sites," he said.
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