TAMIL NADU'S SHRINKING ISLETS SPELL SEA CHANGE
Gokul Chandrasekar asks why more isn't being done to
protect the people and ecosystems in the south Indian state of
Tamil Nadu from sea level rise and coastal erosion
'During my childhood, these islets used to be way bigger than
they are now,' recalls Thangaraj, an octogenarian fisherman living
in Chidambaram, a coastal district in the southern Indian state of
Tamil Nadu. The islets are part of the Pichavaram-Coleroon estuary
complex, which houses the Pichavaram Mangroves, the second
largest mangrove forest in the world, consisting of 51 islets
interspersing a vast expanse of water covered with green trees.
These islets have been shrinking over the years, according to local
fisher folk, as the sea continues to slowly but steadily invade the
land.
'Close to 300 metres of this islet has gone under water over the
years. We have been traditionally using these islets to dry our
fishing nets. The government had also built benches and observation
towers for tourists but now the sea has almost reached them,' says
Thangaraj.
The Pichavaram mangroves support a rich ecosystem consisting of
many rare varieties of fish and shellfish. Surveys have also
recorded 177 bird species so far. Experts continue to debate what
is happening, attributing the shrinking of the islets to a rise in
sea water entering the estuary. Botanists fear this could threaten
the entire Pichavaram ecosystem.
A study by the Centre for Development
Finance highlights the financial implications of a potential
rise in sea levels on existing and proposed infrastructure along
the Tamil Nadu coast. It estimates that structures, wetlands and
real estate, worth US$66.3 billion to $1.3 trillion (approximately
£41.3billion to £810billion), could be at risk from a sea level
rise of one metre by 2050. 'A one metre rise would permanently
inundate about 1,091 square kilometres along the Tamil Nadu coast,
but the total area at risk would be nearly six times as much,' says
Sujatha Byravan, the lead author of the report.
While that figure is just an estimate for Tamil Nadu, a study by
experts from the Indian government's National Institute of
Oceanography says the impact of rising sea levels could be
higher in cities on India's western coast, such as Mumbai and
Cochin.
'Given these risk factors, it is imperative that coastal
planning should use principles of sustainable development and be
consistent with regulations,' says Rajesh Rangarajan, senior
researcher with the Centre for Development Finance.
But where is the regulation? Despite significant data, India's
national climate action policy doesn't touch on coastal areas. In
2009 India framed its National Action Plan
on Climate Change (NAPCC) before going to the UN climate
negotiations at Copenhagen. The action plan spells out a series of
both mitigation and adaptation activities to be undertaken in a bid
to address the climate challenge. However, the plan does not
mention the impact of climate change on India's coast. 'This is
primarily because the policy has been framed in a top-down approach
with scant attention to the coasts,' says Dr Ramachandran, Director
of the Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation Research in
Chennai.
In a bid to address this the government of Tamil Nadu is
drawing up a separate state action plan on climate change with
sustainable coastal management as its top priority. 'While the
NAPCC's focus is primarily on the northern part of the country, we
are framing a separate set of policy guidelines to address the
problem. But this can only succeed if other coastal states also
follow suit and frame similar policies. But implementing that is
not within the ambit of our state government,' says Ramachandran.
His centre has been working with the government of Tamil Nadu to
bring out a state policy.
Meanwhile, the Indian government has drawn up its Coastal Zone
Regulation (CRZ) - but it barely considers the issue of climate
change and rising sea levels. 'The CRZ has been framed with the
idea of regulating commercial activities along the coast. This has
primarily been done to conserve threatened species and regulate
development. There is no climate change perspective to this
regulation,' says Vasudevan, a legal expert based in Chennai.
Despite warnings from the Centre for Development Finance of the
huge potential risk to infrastructure as a result of any sea level
rise, the Indian government has relaxed its CRZ guidelines, which
are meant to control the development of coastlines, and freed up
more space for commercial activity along the coasts. In the city of
Chennai alone, this paved the way for the construction of three
elevated expressways, one right on the beach and another running
along a significant part of the coast.
The unbridled development of coastal infrastructure has been
accelerating the phenomenon of coastal erosion across the state,
worsening the lives and livelihoods of many people. According to a
study carried out by the Siemenpuu Foundation of
Finland, in nine coastal districts of Tamil Nadu, the pace of
erosion has been found to be so great that within a decade parts of
some coastal villages and 21 coral-rich islands in the Gulf of
Mannar will be lost to the sea.
Jesunathan, a fisherman from Thoothukudi city in Tamil Nadu,
built his house at a safe distance from the beach. Today waves wash
into his backyard, as the coast has been eroding phenomenally since
the construction of the Thoothukudi port. 'The sea is not as it
used to be during my grandfather's times. We are seeing a change,
which is not for the good. But we don't know what we can do about
it. The only way out is to educate my children and prevent them
from entering this profession,' Jesunathan concludes.
Gokul Chandrasekar writes for The Indian Express
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