Munroethuruthu faces threat of going under water: study

The Munroethuruthu delta islands at the confluence of Kallada River and the Ashtamudi Lake face the threat going down under water owing to climate change-triggered sea level swell, says a scientific study report submitted to the State government last week.

The study, conducted by State-level environment committee member of the Kerala Sasthra Sahithya Parishad V.K. Madhusoodanan, says the islands have started steadily drowning and measures were needed on a war footing to arrest the situation. The islands are thickly populated and provide the people many means of livelihood.

“The granite protection embankments constructed around some of the islands, a few boat jetties and over 100 acres of paddy fields at the Cherikadavu confluence location that are now under water are indications that Munroethuruthu has already been hit by sea level rise. Fourteen families have left the place after having lost their homes following the phenomenon.”

Apart from submitting the report to the Institute of Climate Change, it has been sent to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, five Ministers, the Centre for Earth Science Studies, CMFRI, Disaster Management Department, Kerala University for Fisheries and Ocean Studies, University of Kerala, District Collector and representatives of the people concerned.

One of the important recommendations of the report is to consider the people living on the Munroethuruthu islands as environment refugees and provide them relief measures. For the purpose, the government should submit an action plan to the Union government to secure allocations from the Green Climate Fund.

The report recommends a major mangrove afforestation project and the creation of an Ashtamudi Lake Protection Authority, which covers the islands too. The study recommends that the sea be left undisturbed by adopting the “planned retreat from vulnerable areas and planting of mangroves” strategy adopted by a study undertaken jointly by the Jadavpur University and World Wildlife Fund for addressing a similar situation in the Sunderbans.

Scientific studies conducted by reputed universities from different countries have shown that important deltas across the globe stand threatened by sea level rise and the case of Munroethuruthu islands is no different, says the report. The littoral areas of the Indian Ocean face the most serious challenges.