Effects of global warming, firsthand

Rising waters have submerged many areas of Cherikadavu

A losing battle?:Mangrove trees standing in deep waters of Ashtamudi Lake in Kollam in the Cherikadavu estuarine island, which was a paddy field till some years ago.— Photo: C. Suresh Kumar

Though the threat of global warming still feels distant for many, it is at the doorstep of those residing at Cherikadavu area of Thevalakara panchayat in Kollam. The state of Munroethuruthu delta islands and the estuarine islands of Ashtamudi Lake is a case in point.

The Kallada river empties into Ashtamudi Lake at Cherikadauvu.

Paddy cultivation

Not long ago, the 60-hectare estuarine island across Cherikadavu used to be a lush paddy field owned and cultivated by several farmers. Paddy cultivation stopped when salinity in the area increased following construction of the Thenmala dam across the Kallada river.

With global warming taking its toll, the island’s geography witnessed a sea change and people there saw for themselves the apocalyptic predictions of environmentalists and climate scientists coming true over the past 20 years. The island resembles a mini-archipelago as the rising waters have submerged many areas.

Mangroves planted

Keen on saving the remaining sections of the island, the Fisheries Department planted over a lakh mangrove saplings with Central funding in 2005.

Today, only those areas of the island where the mangroves thrived remain intact and the areas where they did not are submerging. Environmentalist and mangrove enthusiast V.K. Madhusudhanan, who was active in the sapling planting programme as an officer of the Fisheries Department, said about 10,000 saplings had grown into trees.

But because of climate change, many of these trees are now standing in about three to four ft of water. “It shows that the water level is rising,” he says.

Mr. Madhusudhanan said Ashatmudi Lake was one of the biggest casualties of global warming in peninsular India. Many locations of the lake were facing an environment catastrophe.

He said the State government should stake claim to its due share of the Rs.160-crore allocation in this year’s Union Budget for climate change adaptation.

“A substantial portion of the amount should be utilised for expanding the mangrove forest cover since mangroves are nature’s acclaimed land builders,” he says.