VEMBANAD WETLAND CONSERVATION PROGRAMME
Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth that also harbor high levels of biodiversity. Unfortunately, most wetlands are facing grave threats from various human activities. To understand and act upon such threats, ATREE recently initiated a community based wetland conservation programme around the Vembanad wetland in Kerala.
The Vembanad Lake is the largest humid tropical wetland ecosystem of the south west coast of India. Based on the rich biodiversity and socio-economic importance, the Vembanad Lake along with adjacent kol lands was declared a Ramsar site, a wetland of international importance.
Vembanad lake is ecologically significant due to its mangrove patches and habitat for resident and seasonal migratory waterfowl. A large proportion of the 1.6 million people living on the banks of Vembanad are directly or indirectly dependent upon this wetland ecosystem for their livelihoods. Major livelihood activities include agriculture, fishing, tourism, inland navigation, coir retting, lime shell collection, shrimp/ crab farming and sand mining. The commercial nature of many of these activities leads to uncontrolled resource use and pose grave threats to the ecosystem.
The activities of different stakeholder groups are rarely mutually beneficial and conflicts of various intensities exist at several levels. The situation is made worse because control of various activities rests with different government departments and there is little or no coordination between these departments. Lack of mutual consultations coupled with inadequacies in governance (in terms of capacity and execution) and communities (in terms of awareness and ways to deal with known issues) create circumstances conducive for the deterioration of the wetland ecosystem.
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment
ATREE was established in 1996 to combine principles of natural and social sciences to conserve biodiversity and promote sustainable development; and, to build the necessary social and human capital needed to address our most pressing environmental challenges. ATREE deals with the issues relating to India's rapidly diminishing biological resources and natural ecosystems, and the environmental, social and economic dimensions and implications of this decline. ATREE has a network of offices and field stations across India, through which it works to develop social and human capital to address environmental issues at local, regional and national levels. Read more..
ATREE's Activities at Vembanad
The Vembanad Wetland Conservation Program has adopted an approach based on the four guiding principles/cross-cutting elements of CEPA programme of the Ramsar convention viz. Communication, Education, Public Awareness and Mainstreaming to promote conservation and sustainable use of the Vembanad Lake. Specifically, the programme seeks to achieve the following objectives:
- Assess the institutional, policy and information gaps which adversely affect the conservation and sustainable use of the Vembanad wetlands
- Facilitate discussions on long-term, effective and inclusive institutional mechanisms involving government agencies, academia, NGOs and local community groups with clear cut roles and responsibilities
- Increase environmental awareness among various stakeholders and enhance their capacity to address conservation issues pertaining to wetlands.
- Enable the local communities to participate in the design and implementation of the management plan
Current Projects
Policy Analysis
This project will identify policy issues pertaining to wetland conservation. This policy exercise would be initiated through an analysis of constitutional provisions, land and forest laws and rules, and pertinent provisions of the Kerala Panchayati Raj Act, 1994. Sectoral and community consultations will be held. Methods of enquiry will involve semi-structured interviews, informal and focus group discussions and policy analysis. A working paper will be drafted and workshops and informal discussions will be initiated with key actors and stakeholders to discuss institutional and regulatory potential. The analysis is expected to highlight policy gaps in terms of insufficient regulatory provisions in prevailing laws and legislations and a lack of understanding of the provisions themselves.
Awareness and Capacity Building Initiatives for Stakeholder Groups
This component project will entail a system of information exchange that will lead to an enhanced understanding of the wetland ecosystem and its services. The overall objective of the programme is to facilitate the participation of stakeholders in efficient and sustainable management of the Vembanad SES by
- providing updated information on environmental quality and building monitoring capacities, and
- enhancing the collective understanding of constitutional provisions, laws, legislations and feasible management options
The goal of this participatory approach is to recruit communities into the decision making process and thus enable participatory resource management and wise use. There will be interactions with various stakeholder groups such as farmers, fisher folk, clam collectors, women self-help groups, tour operators and tourists and other related local institutions. The idea is to create interactive learning forums that could form the basis of various educational programmes and policy discussions. Capacity building programmes will be conducted for these groups in natural resources monitoring and evolving sustainable harvest methods.
Jalapaadam (Jalapatham): An Environmental Education Programme for the Conservation of Vembanad Wetland
This project aims to conduct conservation education programmes for school and college students to transfer scientific information and skills so as to create social capacity for participatory monitoring. The project intends to create awareness among students of the ecological functions of the lake ecosystem and the socio-cultural and economic significance of wetlands. The project will establish wetland study centres and organize student interactions, film shows, field trips with scientists, training in water quality assessment and analysis, and documentation of various environmental and biodiversity attributes. About 50 schools, 6 colleges and 6000 students will be involved in the project.
Vembanad Water Watch Partnership Programme
Regular information about water quality is necessary for understanding the condition of the water resources and to provide a basis for effective policies that promotes wise use and better management of the lake. This programme aims to
- develop a scientific and pragmatic methodology for participatory monitoring of the water quality involving local community, stakeholders and other interested agencies /groups.
- educate and train volunteers from various stakeholders i.e. fishermen, agriculturists, clam shell collectors, houseboat workers and others, on water quality issues and monitoring.
- set up basin stations for water quality monitoring at identified points and determine water quality at sampling sites.
- to establish a publicly accessible comprehensive database on water quality
The project also aims to educate stakeholders i.e. fishermen, agriculturists, clam shell collectors, houseboat workers etc. It also aims to make the lake side residents, interested citizens and policy makers aware of the qualitative deterioration of the lake due to various reasons and in various seasons.
Vembanad Wetland Conservation Information System
Environmental and socio-economical data about Vembanad socio-ecological system are collected by a very wide range of organisations and individuals for a multitude of purposes. While this information is valuable, many potential users either do not know that it exists or do not have access to it. Currently, integrated data and information systems in the region are so underdeveloped, that the available information cannot be effectively applied to address environmental questions. The project intents to develop a conservation information system to support decision making at all levels and improves information access and exchange. The system will employ conventional and modern means of information archival and dissemination to address the requirements of a wide variety of users. This includes a reference library, website, Geographical Information System, information CDs, etc. The system will also help to identify information or evidence lacking to support any probable solution.
Contact
Vembanad Office:
Community Environmental Resource Centre (CERC),
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE),
Ammankovil Street, Mullackal, Alappuzha, Kerala, India
Phone: 91- 477-2251818
E-mail : vembanad@atree.org
Bangalore Office
Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE),
#659, 5th A Main Road, Hebbal, Bangalore - 560 024, India
Phone: 91-80-23530069, Fax: 91-80-23530070,
E-mail: info@atree.org , web: www.atree.org
Team: Priyadarsanan Dharma Rajan, Siddhartha Krishnan, M. C. Kiran, , Latha Bhaskar, T. D. Jojo, Deepak Dayanandan, R. Murukesh, Shali Ajit
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