கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டம் குளச்சல் கடல் பகுதியில் கொத்து கொத்தாக செத்து மிதக்கும் மீன்கள் நேற்று முதல் கடல் பகுதி பச்சை நிறமாக மாறிய நிலையில் மீன் குஞ்சுகள் முதல் பெரிய மீன்கள் வரை செத்து மிதப்பதால் மீனவர்கள் அச்சம் மீன்கள் உயிரிழப்பிற்கு கப்பல் மூலம் கடலில் கொட்டப்படும் ரசாயண ஆலை கழிவுகள் காரணமா? மீன்வளத்துறை மற்றும் மத்திய கடல் ஆராட்சி அதிகாரிகள் ஆய்வு மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும் எனவும் மீனவர்கள் கோரிக்கை.
கன்னியாகுமரி மாவட்டம் குளச்சல் முதல் மணவாளக்குறி வரையிலான அரபிக்கடல் பகுதிகள் நேற்று முதல் திடீரென கரும் பச்சை நிறமாக காட்சியளிக்கிறது
கடல் பச்சை நிறத்தில் காட்சி அளிக்கும் நிலையில் கடல் அலையால் ஏற்படும் நுரையும் வழக்கத்திற்கு மாறாக துர்நாற்றம் வீசி வருகிறது
இரண்டாவது நாளாக இன்றும் குளச்சல் முதல் மணவாளக்குறிச்சி கோடிமுனை உள்ளிட்ட கடல் பகுதிகள் பச்சை நிறத்திலேயே காட்சியளிக்கும் நிலையில்
கடல் பகுதிகளில் மீன்கள் கொத்து கொத்தாக செத்து மிதந்து வருகிறது
சிறிய வகை குஞ்சு மீன்கள் முதல் பெரிய மீன்கள் வரை கொத்து கொத்தாக செத்து மிதப்பதோடு கடல் அலைகளால் அடித்து செல்லப்பட்டு கரை ஒதுங்கும் நிலையில் துர்நாற்றமும் வீசி வருகிறது
தொடர்ந்து மீன் குஞ்சுகளும் செத்து கரை ஒதுங்கும் நிலையில் மீன் வளம் கடுமையாக பாதிப்படையும் என அச்சமடைந்துள்ள மீனவர்கள்
மீன்கள் செத்து கரை ஒதுங்குவதற்கு பூங்கோரை பாசிகள் தான் காரணமா? இல்லை கடலில் கப்பல் மூலம் கொண்டு வந்து கொட்டப்படும் ரசாயண ஆலை கழிவுகள் காரணமா? என மீன்வளத்துறை மற்றும் மத்திய கடல் ஆராட்சி நிறுவனமும் உடனடியாக ஆய்வு மேற்கொள்ள வேண்டும் எனவும் மீனவர்கள் கோரிக்கை விடுத்துள்ளனர்.
திசையன்விளை அருகே உள்ள கூட்டப்பனையில் கடல் அரிப்பால் மீன் பிடி வலை பின்னும் கூடத்திற்கு அபாயம் என தினமலர் செய்தி வெளியிட்டுள்ளது – தற்போது சில நபர்களின் மனவோட்டம் ஐயோ!!! இப்போது தாது மணல் தொழில் நடந்து வந்தால் அதனால் தான் இந்த கடல் அரிப்பு என சொல்லி விடலாமே என்பது தான். எப்படி திட்டமிட்டு ஜல்லிகட்டு, சிவகாசி பட்டாசு தொழில் முடக்கப் பட்டதோ அதே போல் தான் இதுவும்.
Mon Oct 17, 2022 11:19 AM Last update on: Mon Oct 17, 2022 12:27 PM
While individual carbon footprints are dwarfed by global fossil fuel companies, we can do a lot to tackle the climate crisis and “be the change we wish to see in the world.”
Many of us bemoan our inability to limit the wildfires, cyclones and flooding that are being experienced with more frequency and intensity due to climate change. There is a belief that polluting fossil fuel companies cannot be stopped, that governments will not regulate them, that emission reduction targets will never be met.
But individually — and in the end collectively — there are many things we can do to help limit the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that supercharge global heating.
1. Ditch airplanes and petrol vehicles for buses, trains or bicycles
Transport generates around one fifth of the world’s emissions, with road traffic as the worst offender.
One easy way we can cut emissions is to decarbonize our transport by ditching petrol cars for trains, bicycles, e-vehicles, and, whenever possible, walking — the ultimate zero-emission transport.
In cities, electrified transport options from e-scooters to e-buses are becoming a low-emission route from A to B. A petrol car pumps out over 10 times more carbon than an electric scooter — even when factoring in manufacturing and disposal emissions.
For the roughly 10 percent of the world’s population who has ever boarded a flight, favoring trains over planes can also have a big impact. A typical rail journey between European cities emits up to 90 percent less CO2 than an equivalent flight.
2. Eat more plants instead of animals
Farming meat and dairy contributes around 15 percent of global GHG emissions — not to mention biodiversity loss, contamination of soils and pollution.
When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this year said that emissions need to be cut by half by 2030 to mitigate global heating, it stressed that a shift to “diets high in plant protein and low in meat and dairy” had the greatest potential to lower greenhouse gases.
So going vegetarian — or vegan — could be the way to go for those looking to mitigate their climate impact.
A boom in climate-friendly plant-based meats makes that choice even easier.
But so far plants only provide two percent of protein — though that’s set to rise to 11 percent by 2035 and could be accelerated if more of us reduce our demand for meat and dairy, according to the Boston Consulting Group.
3. Pressure governments to take action
School kids at the Fridays for Future protests showed it’s possible to take a collective stand for the climate. Politicians might not be doing enough, but they have had to listen as climate concerns drive voting intentions at elections around the world — including recently in Australia, with the new leader promising to significantly raise climate ambition (even if many believe the target remains inadequate).
And sometimes the courts also listen. In April 2021, young people from Fridays for Future successfully argued in a German higher court that a lack of climate action threatened their fundamental freedoms and was unconstitutional. As a result, the court forced the government to strengthen emission reduction targets — which it did a couple of months later.
With climate ranking as the top issue of concern among a rising generation of voters, many are pressuring politicians on climate via protests, social media campaigns, or writing to local representatives.
Demanding carbon neutrality by 2030 — the goal of a citizen initiative for a climate referendum in the German capital — is a good place to start.
4. Switch to green energy providers and (when possible) install renewables
Burning fossil fuels for energy is the largest source of global GHG emissions. This makes choosing green electricity from clean, renewable sources such as wind or solar a great way to cut a key source of climate wrecking carbon.
And consumers have already made a difference. By 2019 in the European Union, renewable electricity generation doubled from 2005, making up 34 percent of all electricity generation. This means that coal, the highest emitting fossil fuel, no longer supplies most of the EU’s electricity.
Those living in a house or even an apartment block can also try to install clean solar power on the roof, or electric heat pumps — where possible — as a substitute for gas heating. Some communities are even getting together to run their neighborhoods almost exclusively on renewable energy.
5. Turn off the lights, turn down the heating
Something as simple as turning the heating down can save a lot of energy. That’s why the German government, faced with an energy crisis due to the nation’s reliance on Russian gas, will limit heating temperatures to 19 degrees Celsius this winter in public buildings.
Shutting down your computer at night and eliminating “vampire” power by unplugging idle electronics is another climate change busting action we can achieve today. Even easier is to simply turn off the lights when we aren’t in the room.
Using highly energy-efficient appliances — induction instead of gas stoves, for example — is another step forward. Better still, demand that your government switch off the night lights at monuments and buildings, a policy recently implemented in the German capital.
6. Waste less food
Meanwhile, around one third of food grown globally is thrown away. This food loss and waste is a massive carbon emitter when the production, transportation and handling of food is calculated — food that ends up in landfills also generates methane, a highly potent GHG over the short term.
In the US, annual food loss and waste creates 170 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent GHG emissions, and that’s excluding landfill emissions. It’s equivalent to the annual emissions of 42 coal-fired power plants.
So, if we can’t eat everything in the fridge, at least compost the rest — to fertilize the garden or for biogas.
Meanwhile, pressure supermarkets to stop throwing away extra food, instead offering it to foodbanks or charities; or ask restaurants to offer “doggy bags” for uneaten food — both measures are included in a food waste law recently passed in Spain.
7. Plant trees
Trees are vital carbon sinks yet deforestation continues at alarming rates — logging of the Amazon forest, for example, rose by 20 percent in the last year.
More than ever, planting trees is one of the best thing we can do as individuals to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere.
While also cleaning the air, increasing biodiversity and maintaining healthy soils, trees too save energy — especially in cities where more plants on the street keep things cooler and reduce the need for air conditioning — according to non-profit Become Carbon Negative.
So too in the winter, trees can shelter homes from the wind, helping to reduce heating costs by up to 25 percent.
குமரி மாவட்டத்தில் கடல் சீற்றம் ஏற்பட்டு கடல் நீர் ஊருக்குள் புகுந்துள்ளது.
இதற்கு முக்கிய காரணம் புவி வெப்பமயமாதலால் கடல் மட்டம் உயர்வது தான். இந்த பகுதியை பார்த்தால் ஏற்கனவே கட்டிய கடல் அரிப்பு தடுப்பு சுவர்களை பெரும்பகுதி அழித்து ஒரு சிறு பகுதி மட்டுமே மிச்சம் இருப்பதை காணலாம்.
புவி வெப்பமயமாதலை தடுத்தலே இதற்கு நிரந்தர தீர்வாக அமையும். வைகுண்டராஜன் மீது கோபம் ஏற்படும் போது மட்டும் தான் ஊடகவியலாளர்கள் தாதுமணல் சுரங்க பணியால் தான் இம்மாதிரி இயற்கை சீற்றங்கள் ஏற்படுகிறது என எழுதுவார்கள்.
கேரளா மாநிலத்தில் 60 சதவீத கடற்கரை கடலரிப்புக்கு உள்ளாகி உள்ளது. விஞ்ஞானிகளின் ஆய்வு படி இந்த கடலரிப்புக்கு கடல் நீர் மட்டம் உயர்வது மற்றும் மழை காலங்களில் ஏற்படும் புயலால் உருவாகும் வருடாந்திர கடலரிப்பு மட்டும் காரணம் அல்ல. மாறாக நகரமயமாக்கல், சுற்றுலா, மற்றும் இயற்கைக்கு முரணான கடலரிப்பு தடுப்பு அமைப்புகள் ஆகியவையும் காரணம். இதனால் தேசிய பசுமை தீர்ப்பாயம் தற்போது உருவாக்கும் கடலரிப்பு தடுப்பு சுவர்களை அமைப்பதை நிறுத்தி வைக்க கேரளா, தமிழ்நாடு, ஆந்திரா முதலிய தென்மாநிலங்களுக்கு உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது. இதற்கு விஞ்ஞானபூர்வாக எப்படி தடுப்பு அமைப்பது என ஒரு திட்டத்தை சமர்பிக்க உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது.
கடலரிப்பில் பாதிக்கப் பட்டவர்களுக்கு மற்றும் கடற்கரையில் இருந்து 50 மீட்டருக்குள் உள்ள நபர்களுக்கு கேரளா அரசு வீடு கட்டிக் கொள்ள ஆறு லட்சம் ரூபாயும், நிலத்திற்கு நான்கு லட்சம் ரூபாயும் என மொத்தம் பத்து லட்சம் ரூபாய் வழங்குகிறது. ஆனால் அதனை பெற்றுக் கொண்டும் யாரும் கடற்கரையை விட்டு நகர தயாராக இல்லை. விரிவான செய்தி ஆங்கிலத்தில் கீழே.
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Hard constructions continue to erode Kerala’s coastline, leaving communities stranded
In November 2018, a study by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies showed that 60 percent of Kerala’s coastline is under erosion. It underlined that coastal development in the form of urbanisation, tourism, and “unscientific shoreline protection methods” has led to the coastline becoming unstable.
Chellanam, a coastal village in central Kerala, has been facing the brunt of an increasingly erratic monsoon, floods, and cyclones. The low lying region gets inundated with seawater, and waves crash into a dilapidated seawall sending stones flying into homes.
Shanghumugham, another coastal village in south Kerala is rapidly losing the beach to erosion. Fishers are losing land to the sea, affecting their homes and livelihood.
In November 2021, the National Green Tribunal, southern zone, passed an order asking the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Karnataka to come up with a shoreline assessment plan that provides a permanent solution for protecting the coast and the fishing communities. In April 2022, the NGT ordered the states to stall the construction of all hard structures across India’s coastline and recommended to state governments to come up with more eco-friendly solutions.
At 5 p.m. on February 10, at least 30 residents of Chellanam, a coastal village near Kochi in central Kerala, gathered on the side of the village road. The group was a motley of men and women of ages ranging from 40 to 75 — fishers, fishworkers, fish sellers, boat owners, and homeowners. They had set up a temporary shelter with bamboo, tarpaulin and bright green plastic chairs. Two speakers and a mic were also arranged. A huge banner with their cause and demands, and a whiteboard stating the day of protest – 837.
The group, part of a local non-profit forum Kochi Chellanam Janakeeya Vedi, were protesting the loss of their homes and livelihoods to coastal erosion and demanding that the government take proper action to protect their coastline. Their protest in Chellanam began on October 28, 2019, shortly after the village started experiencing severe erosion, and continues till date.
Chellanam is just one of the many villages affected by coastal erosion in the southern Indian coastal state. In November 2018, the National Centre for Earth Science Studies (NCESS) published a shoreline assessment study for southwest India. The study analysed the 1968-2014 period using multi-dated shoreline images and Survey of India (SOI) topographic charts. The analysis revealed that almost 60 percent of Kerala’s coastline is eroding. Apart from seal level rise, anthropogenic factors are a leading cause for an irreversible loss of land.
People from the fishing community in Chellanam, Kerala, during day 837 of their protest demanding solutions for coastal erosion and its impacts. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
Coastal erosion and factors leading to damage
Kerala’s 590-kilometre long coastline, extending from Poovar in Thiruvananthapuram in the south till Thalapadi in Kasargod in the north is a dynamic coastal stretch. It lies sandwiched between the Arabian Sea on the west and the Western Ghats on the east. Its coast is intercepted by 41 rivers that originate from the Western Ghats and flow into the Arabian Sea through inlets that are connected to the sea via estuaries/lagoons.
Coastal erosion is the wearing away of the land by the sea. It is a long-term removal of sediment along the coastline. On dynamic shorelines, coastal erosion is a seasonal process. The littoral current is a combination of longshore currents that flow parallel to the shore and cross-shore currents that flow onshore-offshore. These currents transport sediment in both the directions and the beaches recede and accrete seasonally.
Kerala has three distinct seasons – pre-monsoon from February to May, the southwest monsoon from June to September and the northwest post-monsoon from October to January. The longshore currents generally flow north to south during the monsoon and in the opposite direction in other seasons. One of the primary reasons for erosion is the influence of monsoonal and non-monsoonal waves. The beaches, after being subjected to seasonal erosion, are capable of completely regaining their original shape.
But, over the years, as the NCESS study indicates, coastal development in the form of urbanisation, tourism, and “unscientific shoreline protection methods” has led to the coastline becoming unstable. Anthropogenic activities such as the construction of hard structures (breakwaters, seawalls, groynes), dredging of channels, beach/river sand mining, and damming of rivers have a negative impact on the coast. They obstruct the natural flow of the water, cause a shortage of sediment supply, and cause erosion on one part of the land and accretion on another part.
Chellanam harbour in Kerala. The human-made structure causes changes in the natural flow of water, sand and sediments. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
“Imagine a river of sand is flowing in a particular direction, just like a river,” said K.V. Thomas, geographer and former scientist and group head at NCESS, and former Dean, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi.
When one has structures protruding from the shore — breakwaters, harbours, jetties, or groynes — they block the natural flow of the sand, just like a dam blocks a river.
“When we intervene with the natural flow of sand on the up-drift side, the sediment gets blocked on that side. The down-drift side, where the sand is supposed to flow, now experiences scarcity. Thus, there is erosion on the down-drift side, and deposition on the up-drift side,” he explained. Once this displacement happens, there is no scope of sand coming back, as it is blocked by the structure. The erosion is irreversible.
Today, Kerala’s coast is dotted with one major port at Kochi, four intermediate ports at Thiruvananthapuram, Alappuzha, Kozhikode, Thalassery, an upcoming international port at Vizhinjam, 25 fishing harbours and breakwaters, and 106 groynes. Of the entire coastline, about 310 km is an artificial coast. An artificial coast is an eroding coast that is managed by man-made structures — seawalls running parallel to the shore, and groynes built perpendicular to the shoreline.
This is why fishers say that the “beaches would always come back. But not anymore.”
Damaged seawalls and a wall made of gunny bag-filled sand to hold incoming storm surges at Chellanam. The houses in the coastal village are largely damaged and abandoned due to coastal erosion. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
The eroding coast of Chellanam
Chellanam is a narrow strip of low-lying land nestled between the Arabian sea and the backwaters of Vembanad Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Asia in the Ernakulam district of central Kerala. Cochin port lies to its north. The 17.5 km coastline has a harbour and a coastline that is partially covered with a seawall in dilapidated condition. Approximately 16,000 families live in the 812-hectare area. Large stretches of revenue land and property owned by the local community have been eroded over a period of 40-50 years in this area. Hundreds of families have lost their homes.
Sixty-two-year-old Filomena Joseph lives with her husband and two children in the Bazar ward of Chellanam. Her home, a broken, small pucca structure, lies barely 50 metres from the Arabian Sea; a wall of rocks separates it from the lashing waves. Nearly a year has passed since Cyclone Tauktae tore through the west coast. Huge waves overtopped the seawall, inundating the Chellanam village with floods. Some waves smashed through the seawall, sending stones flying into people’s homes. The Bazar ward, one of the worst affected parts of Chellanam, still looks like a disaster site. Nearly every house is either broken or filled with sand.
The row of houses next to Filomena’s are broken structures. They are the first in line, facing the sea, with the rocks between them. The beach that existed between the seawall and the sea is long gone. “Last monsoon, the waves were so big and strong, they crashed into the seawall, and the stones flew into people’s homes,” said Mary Jugunu, a resident of Chellanam and also the local translator for Mongabay-India.
“The depth is too high now. As you enter into the water, you will just fall,” she continued to explain. In her childhood, there used to be a beach in front of the seawall. In the presence of a beach, the waves break on the sand, and the energy gets absorbed, thus softening the waves. But now, there is no place for the waves to crash because there is no beach. The sand is gone, and the depth is so high that the waves directly crash into the seawall.
It is not that the waves themselves have become stronger, she added. It is just that they crash more heavily because of the high depth.
Chellanam, a coastal village faces the brunt of an increasingly erratic monsoon, floods, and cyclones. The low-lying region gets inundated with seawater, and waves crash into a dilapidated seawall sending stones flying into homes. All photos by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
The disappearing beach of Shanghumugham
The sea by the beach of Shanghumugham, a fishing village near Trivandrum in south Kerala has layers of three distinct colours – a muddy brown near the shore, a teal, and a deep blue. The muddy brown is new, said Ajith Shanghumugham, a fisher, chef and activist from the village. “The sea has come closer. The beach used to stretch for miles and miles, and now it is barely 25-30 metres,” he said. A road running parallel to the shore, linking the beach to the city airport has been entirely damaged due to coastal erosion, making it tough for people to complete the last mile to the airport.
Fishing with kambavala, a large shore seine net requires up to 40 people at a time, and requires the fishers to hold the net from the sides, placing it near the shore. It is one of the oldest traditional fishing methods in south Kerala, and one that employs elderly fishers as well, as they don’t have to go into the sea. The net needs large swathes of land to spread out on. The shrinking beach has made it difficult for fishers to keep their nets, boats and equipment.
Fishermen work with large near-shore fishing nets called kambaval at Shanghumugam near Vizhinjam. The process can employ up to 50 people at a time but its usage is reducing as the beach undergoes coastal erosion. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
Many have even lost their homes to the sea, and have been shifted to relief camps.
On July 23, 2019, Celine Gerard’s home in Shanghumugham collapsed. It was a regular monsoon day. Rain thrashed. Waves crashed. “The waves came and took sand below my home and it just entirely caved in. No warning,” said Gerard. She now lives with thirty other refugees in a relief camp in Valiathura, a neighbouring village that is also facing the brunt of erosion. The camp is built of shipping containers, with 5ftx5ft cubicles fitting in 14 families, one kitchen, and two bathrooms.
The women want their homes back. Grief is a constant factor in their lives. They neither blame the sea nor the cyclone or the floods. They squarely blame the upcoming private port in Vizhinjam, about 20 km away.
A relief camp in Valiathura housing families who lost their homes and livelihood opportunities to coastal erosion in the neighbouring Shanghumugham. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
What is causing the large scale erosion?
While studies have proved that hard structures along the coastline cause irreversible coastal erosion, scientists insist that more site-specific studies are needed to understand the precise reasons, as the geomorphology of the coastline is different for each location.
In February 2022, Rafeeque M.K., a scientist studying coastal morphologies at NCESS presented a paper during the Oceans 2022 conference in Chennai. The draft, yet to be published, is titled Functional Performance of Coastal Protection Structures. Using scientific analysis and focus group discussions with indigenous fishers, his paper reveals that the shoreline trend analysis of the Trivandrum coast from 1968 to 2021 shows that 81 percent of the coastline is affected by coastal erosion. While the paper does not make any specific mentions about the Vizhinjam port, it does say that hard structures such as breakwaters, seawalls and promenades, and activities such as dredging cause irreversible erosion of the beaches. A 3.1 km breakwater is currently under construction at the port.
Fishing boats at an old harbour against the backdrop of an under construction 3.1 km breakwater for Vizhinjam International Seaport on the Vizhinjam coast in Kerala. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
In Chellanam, central Kerala, the 2018 NCESS study shows that the region south of Cochin inlet (where Chellanam lies) has been under erosion for years. While activists and fishers blame the continuous dredging of the Cochin port for the coastal erosion, scientists also say that the renovated harbour breakwater could be increasing the rate of erosion. They also blame dredging.
For a port to maintain its shipping channel, it needs continuous dredging.
“Dredging is essentially the removal of sand from a beach,” said Thomas. “And they started dredging the tidal inlet (of Cochin) to deepen the channel, which changed the inlet dynamics and eventually the sediment dynamic,” he explained. The sand recharges the coast, it was deposited over thousands of years, and when we dredge it we are removing it. “The sediment is food for the coast and we are making it hungry,” he added.
And the first line of impact is the fishing communities that live on these stretches.
A woman near her house with the receding sand at Shangumugham beach close to her doorstep. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
What is the government doing?
In December 2021, the Kerala government, through funding received by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, launched a Rs. 344 crore (Rs. 3.44 billion) project to build a seawall at Chellanam using tetrapods and rubble. The contract was given to Urangular Labour Contract Cooperative Society. The work is ongoing.
In Shanghumugham, a 350-metre long diaphragm wall is under construction to protect the airport road. A diaphragm wall is a continuous reinforced concrete wall constructed in the ground and acts as a retaining wall. The project was allotted Rs 6.39 crore (Rs. 63.9 million) under the Rebuild Kerala Initiative, a state government project to restore and rebuild Kerala after the 2018 floods. The work, here too, is ongoing.
This year, as part of their 2022-2023 budget, the government has allocated Rs 333 crore (Rs. 3.33 billion) for the coastal protection of the overall state.
But the government is keen on seawalls even when science has established that they are counter-effective. Seawalls have a long drawn history in Kerala, with the first one being constructed in 1890, south of Varkala cliff in Trivandrum in the southern district of the state. “The purpose of that seawall was to protect a canal that was being constructed at the time, not the coastline,” explained Thomas of NCESS.
Ever since, seawalls have been the go-to solution for any kind of protective measure. The erosion of the beach from the front of the seawall, explains Thomas, is often a result of the seawall being placed on the wrong site. “This is a micro-tidal and a high energy coast. A seawall cannot be the first option for protecting the coast in such a situation,” he said. “Once the waves hit the seawall, they will take the sand away, and over time the sediment will disappear from the spot. The waves will continue to get higher, and eventually overtop and break into the seawall.”
In December 2021, the Kerala government, through funding received by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board, launched a Rs. 344 crore (Rs. 3.44 billion) project to build a seawall at Chellanam using tetrapods and rubble. Experts say that seawalls cannot be the longterm solution to coastal erosion in the state. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
But, Thomas stressed that things are slowly changing. “Seawalls must only be used in dire emergencies, and the government is slowly understanding that,” he said.
In November 2021, the National Green Tribunal, southern zone, released an order demanding a shoreline assessment plan from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry and Karnataka to devise a strategy to mitigate the problem of coastal erosion. The order emphasised that it has been proved that the construction of a seawall along the coastal zone is not a permanent measure for protecting the coast and each time state governments end up spending a huge amount on their construction. “It is high time for the coastal states to find out some scientific measures as to how this can be resolved so as to protect the coastal region…without affecting the persons who are depending on the sea for their livelihood,” the order stated.
Recently, on April 11, 2022, the NGT passed an order to stall the construction of all hard structures across India’s coastline, recommending to state governments to explore more eco-friendly solutions.
Queries sent to the Kerala state government regarding the seawall projects and shoreline assessment plans were unanswered at the time of publishing.
What about those who have lost their homes to the sea?
For rehabilitation and compensation, the state government has offered financial assistance with the “Punargeham project” which offers people Rs. 600,000 to buy new land and Rs. 400,000 to construct a home. The scheme is meant to rehabilitate 18,685 families living within 50-metre of the high tide line. Many people have found faults with the compensation because land prices are “too high” and they “do not want to move away from the sea.” On April 1, 2022, the fair value of land in the state went up by 220 percent from the time it was fixed in 2010.
“We also don’t get any loan from the banks because all of these coastal areas are vulnerable and no bank wants to take a risk. They have pushed us to the brink,” said 65-year-old Joseph, a fisherman whose home was completely destroyed in the cyclone last year. While some are suffering from the pain of losing their homes, residents like Filomena, who have parts of their houses intact, live by the sea with a sense of foreboding.
“We live in fear of the sea,” shared Filomena, whose front rooms are reduced to rubble, the switchboard is gone, the windows are broken, and all electrical appliances are rotting thanks to the seepage of seawater. She had 11 coconut trees, out of which seven were uprooted last year during the cyclone. She used a bit of her land to grow vegetables but she notes that saline water destroyed that livelihood. Her husband, a fisher, rarely goes to work because of dwindling fishing days thanks to bad weather.
But the sea is her home. “This is my homeland. This is my kadalamma (mother sea). I cannot leave this place. Our government needs to do better,” she said.
The sea visible through a house damaged by a cyclone and flying stones from a seawall. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
Banner image: A house damaged by Cyclone Tauktae and coastal erosion in Chellanam. Photo by Supriya Vohra/Mongabay.
தமிழகத்தில் தற்போது தான் பனைத்தொழிலுக்கு அரசின் சில ஊக்க அறிவிப்புகள் வந்துள்ளன. ஆனால் அதே நேரத்தில் நம் அண்டை தேசமான இலங்கையில் பனைத் தொழிலை ஊக்குவிக்க ஏராளமான ஆராய்ச்சிகள் சுமார் 40 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு முன்பாகவே மேற்கொள்ளப் பட்டு அதனை ஆவணப்படுத்தி உள்ளார்கள். அவ்வாறு ஒரு புத்தகம் ஒரு நண்பர் என்டிஆர் பவுண்டேசனில் பகிர்ந்து இருந்தார். அது அனைவரும் தெரிவதற்காக கீழே கொடுக்கப் பட்டுள்ளது.
புவி வெப்பமயமாதலால் உலகம் முழுவதும் பாதிக்கப் படுகிறது. அதற்கு அமெரிக்காவும் விதிவிலக்கு அல்ல. 2100 ஆண்டு வாக்கில் கடல் நீர் மட்டம் சுமார் ஒன்றரை மீட்டர் வரை உயரும் என்று எதிர் பார்க்கப் படுகிறது. இதனால் அமெரிக்காவில் ஏராளமான நகரங்கள் பாதிக்கப்பட வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது. மேலும் கடல் நீர் மட்ட உயர்வால் எவ்வளவு பகுதிகள் பாதிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளன என்ற விபரத்தையும், குடியிருப்புகள் எவ்வாறு பாதிக்கப் பட்டுள்ளன என்றும் இணைப்பில் உள்ள செய்தியும் படமும் தெரிவிக்கிறது.
தாது மணல் சுரங்க பணியால் கடலரிப்பு என்று சிலர் தி;ட்டமிட்டு பிரச்சாரம் செய்தார்கள். இது பற்றி நாங்கள் பல்வேறு நிபுணர்களிடம் கலந்து பேசி தாதுமணல் சுரங்க பணிக்கும் கடலரிப்பிற்கும் தொடர்பு இல்லை என்பதை தொடர்ந்து விளக்கி வந்தோம். தற்போது எங்கள் கருத்தை இந்திய அரசின் விஞ்ஞானம் மற்றும் தொழில் நுட்பதுறை கடந்த 26 வருடங்களாக இந்திய கடற்கரையில் ஏற்பட்டுள்ள மாற்றங்களை செயற்கைகோள் மூலம் படம் பிடித்து வந்து ஒரு அறிக்கையை பாராளுமன்றத்தில் சமர்பித்துள்ளார்கள். அது தொடர்பான செய்தி கீழே உள்ளது.
இதன்படி இந்தியாவில் சாதாரணமாக 41 சதவீத கடற்கரை கடலரிப்பால் பாதிக்கப் பட்டுள்ளது. இந்தியாவில் அதிகமாக கடலரிப்பால் பாதிக்கப் பட்ட மாநிலம் மேற்கு வங்காளம் (60 சதவீதம்). பாண்டிச்சேரி (56 சதவீதம்), கேரளா மற்றும் தமிழ்நாடு (41 சதவீதம்) ஆகும்.
இதில் முக்கியமாக கவனிக்கப் பட வேண்டியது மேற்கு வங்கம் மற்றும் பாண்டிச்சேரியில் தாதுமணல் சுரங்க பணி நடைபெறவில்லை. திருநெல்வேலி, தூத்துக்குடி மாவட்டங்களில் தனியார் தாதுமணல் சுரங்க குத்தகை உள்ள எந்த பகுதியிலும் கடலரிப்பு ஏற்படவில்லை. காரணம் அவர்கள் கடலோர மேலாண்மை விதிகளின் கீழ் பெற்ற சுற்றுச்சூழல் அனுமதியின் நிபந்தனைகளை தீவிரமாக கடைபிடிப்பது தான். எனவே அரசு கடலரிப்பை தடுக்க கோடிக்கணக்கில் செலவு செய்வதற்கு பதிலாக எல்லா கடலோர பகுதியிலும் தனியாருக்கு உரிய நிபந்தனையோடு சுரங்க குத்தகை வழங்கினால் கடலரிப்பை பாதுகாக்க முடியும். உள்ளுர் மக்களுக்கு வேலை வாய்ப்பு. அரசுக்கு வரி வருவாய். ஒன்றிய அரசுக்கு அன்னிய செலவாணி எல்லாம் கிடைக்கும். ஆனால் அரசியல்வாதிகளுக்கு கமிஷன் கிடைக்காது என்பதால் இதனை செய்ய மறுப்பதாக பொதுமக்களில் சிலர் கூறுவது உண்மை தானோ என்பது இந்த செய்தியை பார்க்கும் போது நினைக்க தோன்றுகிறது.
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41% of Kerala’s coastline under erosion threat: Study
The report said coasts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Kollam are dominated by both erosion and stable condition with a few pockets of accretion.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Giving enough reasons for the state to worry, a study report tabled in Parliament by the Ministry of Earth Sciences reveals that 41% of the coastline in Kerala is under varying degrees of coastal erosion. The National Centre for Coastal Research has monitored the shoreline changes along 6,632km of Indian coastline from 1990 to 2018. The results of the study are mainly classified into three different categories — erosion, stable and accretion.
The overall long-term (1990-2018) shoreline change result shows that about 32% of the coastline is under varying degrees of erosion, while 27% is of accreting nature and the remaining 41% is in a stable state. The state-wise shoreline analysis reveals that 60% of the West Bengal coast was noticed with varying degrees of erosion followed by Puducherry (56%), Kerala (41%) and Tamil Nadu (41%). Accretion was dominant along the Odisha coast with 51% followed by Andhra Pradesh (48%).
This is not the first time the grave situation along the 590km-long coastline — one of the most densely populated in the country and exposed to rogue waves — is being exposed. The ‘National assessment of shoreline changes along Indian coast: A status report for 26 years (1990-2016)’ prepared by the National Centre for Coastal Research had revealed that around 45% of Kerala’s coastline is eroding while 34% is stable and 21% accreting. The report said coasts of Kasaragod, Kannur, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Kollam are dominated by both erosion and stable condition with a few pockets of accretion.
Another study, ‘Coastal Morphology and Long-term Shoreline Changes along the Southwest Coast of India’, conducted by the National Centre for Earth Science Studies and published in Journal Geological Society of India, revealed that almost 60% of the state’s coastline is eroding with about 29% showing an accreting trend. A 46-year-period from 1968 to 2014 was studied using multi-dated shoreline images and Survey of India topographic charts.
All these studies point to factors like construction of structures such as fishing harbours, ports, groynes, sea walls and beach sand mining for monazite ores for altering the nature of the coastline and induced changes.
M C Dathan, scientific advisor to the chief minister and a former director of ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), said, “Coastal erosion is more vigorous and rampant along the coastline of Kerala as more energy is stored in the waves of the Arabian Sea as compared to the Bay of Bengal. There are a lot of global factors which influence the sea surface temperature and wind patterns over the sea. We have been following various methods like construction of a sea wall, diaphragm wall etc here to dampen the force of waves. It is to some extent useful but, certainly, more needs to be done.”
