Media for Climate Justice

Media CAMPAIGN for climate justice 2014 - 2015

a Pipal Tree publication Media campaign for climate justice Compilation of monographs from the 2014-15 media project of Pipal Tree

Translators: Mallikarjuna Hosapalya | K.A. Shaji | Nakkeeran

Editors: Eugene Lawrence | Shabin Paul

Design and layout: Ananda Siddhartha

Cover picture: Arun Kumar

Published: March 2015

Published by: Pipal Tree, Fireflies Intercultural Centre, Dinnepalya, Kaggalipura Post Bangalore - 560 082 India | Phone: +91-80-28432725 | Email: [email protected] Website: www.pipaltree.org.in | www.climatesouthasia.org Contents

1 The tipping point...are we past the 25 Palmyra - the natural solution for climate debate? induced water scarcity Veil Muthu 3 Towards Low Carbon Farming M. N. Kulkarni 28 Migrating fisher folk in the face of looming catastrophe 7 Agriculture – Devoted commitment to Sakthivel Murugan G our inheritance Mallikarjuna Hosapalya 30 Migratory Birds Driven to the Brink with Mindless Destruction of their Habitat 10 Sesame: The Dismal Story of a Rainfed Shanmuganantham E Crop Ganapathi Bhat 34 Climate Justice - What does it mean for coastal communities? 13 Conscientious food habits for us and our Oamjie John planet Arthi Chandrasekar 38 Climate Change and Tourism - A Saga of Betrayal 16 Bottled Bomb Sumesh Mangalasseri Nakkeeran 42 Climate change exacerbates the plight of 20 Vanishing Coasts farmers in Wayanad, Kerala Arun Kumar P Subini Nair The tipping point… are we past the debate?

n the past several years, statistics, even if they have been Karnataka but ironically, bought by families from the market refuted by climate change deniers, do present a disturbing to make delicacies during festivals! He cites climatic changes Ipicture worth noting. Glaciers continue to melt at rates faster in the region as a cause of the disappearance of this crop. The than earlier forecast, shorelines recede as rising sea levels erode story invites the reader to ponder on the future of other crops and inundate them, forest fires continue to rage more fiercely, especially when such a crop as sesame which can grow under more and more animal species are disappearing, droughts and drought conditions can succumb to a disappearing Bharani rain! flooding continue unabated with an ever increasing change in In ‘Conscientious food habits for us and our planet’, Arthi rain fall patterns, newer species of pests are being noticed and our Chandrasekar, a Bangalore based freelance writer introspects on oceans are not registering any reduction in acidification. Above the connection between our food habits and the delicate checks all, there does not seem to be the ‘Will’ among governments to and balances of our planet, and climate change. At a time when firmly accept the need to shift to a new paradigm of development we should be reducing food miles by eating bio-diverse, local and which upholds the need of everyone over that of greed of a fresh foods, we choose to adopt monoculture farming practices few. Fossil fuel dependent industry continues to dominate the that ‘promote’ the growth of just certain crops which increasingly economics of growth totally shutting off the reality of climate deplete the soil of all its nutrients, she criticises. change it has spawned. She says, “The problem of climate change can only be Pipal Tree believes that the media in India, especially the Indian examined and addressed in its entirety when we do not just languages media, has a vital role in creating awareness among the embrace the scientific or technical aspects behind it but rather general public and in engaging policy makers on aspects related examine our attitude towards growth, our well-being, and a to climate justice, low carbon farming, alternative energy and sense of interconnectedness with nature very much like the other mitigation and adaptation strategies. The communication interconnectedness of the legume and the millet; the bees and campaign of Pipal Tree is hence aimed at facilitating alliances pollination, the earthworm and the soil, and our food and our of freelance writers, social researchers and activists to come health.” out with stories and articles on how climate change is being In his expose on industrial evil, Nakkeeran, activist writer felt by communities, and what would form effective adaptation from Tamil Nadu takes on packaged drinking water as a potent measures for those whose livelihood is affected by the changing industry which exacerbates climate change. climatic patterns. This release is a compilation of articles written His ‘Bottled Bomb’ decimates the popular myth of safe and published by twelve freelance writers from the three South drinking water in a branded plastic bottle and explodes the Indian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala during the bottle’s genesis of scientifically unfounded industrial practices, programme year 2014 and 2015. hazardous chemical catharsis in the production process, all M.N. Kulkani, well known for his works in climate change backed by national and international findings. It is yet another adaptation and mitigation, writes in his article, ‘Towards Low example of how advertisement driven consumerism has made Carbon Farming’, that the advocacy for alternatives to chemical this industry a giant success. The question is: Will you still buy fertilizers and pesticides is gaining momentum even at the level a bottle of water after reading the article? Perhaps, but better of scientists and government. His tips on how low carbon farming informed. can be achieved with simple methods are indeed educative. Arun Kumar, in his ‘Vanishing Coasts’, slams at the abuse of In the article ‘Agriculture – Devoted commitment to our the beaches by the hospitality industry that is turning vast swathes inheritance’ farmer activist Mallikarjuna Hospalya writes about of coastal habitation inhospitable and culpable in weakening the the bleak situation farmers have been facing: unavailability of natural defensive capabilities against tsunamis and ferocious adequate labor, lack of market facilities, lack of attractive prices cyclones. He cautions that these forces of nature will get more for the produce and the alarming change in rainfall pattern. Yet, and more violent with the onslaught of climate change rendering he is not distraught because he also sees a reverse trend of hope: these coastal stretches totally vulnerable. When lopsided instances of young educated people coming back to villages to economic development activities affect the environment, it is the settle down and till the land in their own innovative ways in poor who pay the price, he observes. organic farming, planting horticultural, timber, forestry and Concerned with another callous disregard of nature’s gift, Veil fodder trees, conserving natural resources, harvesting rain water, Muthu, freelance journalist from Tamil Nadu instances the case growing green manure trees, and adopting traditional moisture of the Palmyra in his article ‘Palmyra, the natural solution for management practices, etc. climate induced water scarcity’. The drought resistant Palmyra Ganapathi Bhat, freelance journalist and farmer activist next is one of the oldest and naturally growing trees of Tamil Nadu. writes about the dismal story of Sesame, a rainfed crop. Used Out of the 85.9 million Palmyras in the world, 60% are in Tamil as a topping or dressing for many a savory or variety of sweets, Nadu (51 million), which is the largest number in the world. Yet, especially festivals, he writes on how, this once financially Palmyra trees are being destroyed like never before. He points rewarding crop has been abandoned by farmers in a district of at the gross ignorance of the value of the Palmyra in rainwater

1 harvesting especially in a water deficit, drought recurring state of folk in Koilandy, Calicut and Alappuzha, Oamjie discerns the Tamil Nadu! Equally insulting to human intelligence is even after gap between traditional and scientific knowledge. While there is seeing that the Palmyra is a natural bulwark against tsunamis and pressure on traditional knowledge to come to terms with climate deadly cyclones to which Tamil Nadu is no stranger, the Tamil change, the scientific communication is woefully inadequate in Nadu government chose to erect a large number of the chopped information and tangible education. Palmyra trunks as pillars so as to form a natural bulwark on the Coming like a bolt from the blue: Sumesh Mangalasseri, coast, instead of planting and growing Palmyra! activist and promoter of community tourism from Kerala, jolts Detailing the beneficial properties of palmyra produce, chiefly the tourism and aviation industry with his stunning article its food potential, Veil Muthu draws the readers’ attention to ‘Climate Change and Tourism - A Saga of Betrayal’. Tourism, a human tragedy unveiling for the ‘Chennars’, a community he writes, has an enormous impact on the environment and is dependent on Palmyra trees for a living, with the disappearance a major contributor to carbon emissions and is clearly in conflict of the Palmyra trees. with global Green House Gas (GHG) reduction goals. Providing Sakthivel Murugan G, activist and freelance writer from alarming statistics, he cautions that unless stringent measures are Tamil Nadu unveils another human tragedy in Arcattuthurai, taken, the sector is poised to double its emissions in the next ten a fishing hamlet in the Vedaranayam taluk of Nagapattinam in years and by 2035, could increase by 130%! his, ‘Migrating fisher folk in the face of looming catastrophe’. Drawing from the experiences at local destinations, Sumesh Defining the catastrophe in terms of an economic upheaval, shows how tourism often aggravates poverty in these regions compounded with depleting fish resources due to increase in sea and depletes natural resources. Citing the case of Alappuzha, a temperatures, increase in costs and resultant lowered wages, he highly popular tourist destination in Kerala famous for its ‘house explains that fishing has become unviable, changing their lives boat sojourns’ on the back waters and lakes, Sumesh reveals traumatically, from fisher folk to labourers on distant shores, how the water is now contaminated with germs, pesticides and often under inhumane conditions, as the tide of migration petrochemicals, causing serious health problems. escalates. What comfort is there for this community in the face of Journeying to an ascending plateau of Kerala, Subini Nair, a climate driven economic and social upheaval? freelance writer from Kerala gives us a flashback on how a region The impact of climate change encompasses our entire in Kerala known as Wayanad once filled the air with the aroma of environment, birds being no exception. Shanmuganantham, coffee and an aromatic spice; the pepper! In her ‘Climate change freelance writer and photographer from Tamil Nadu tells us how exacerbates the plight of farmers in Wayanad, Kerala’ she recounts in his article ‘Migratory Birds Driven to the Brink with Mindless a time when a farmer was wealthy and enjoyed the ‘Thiruvathira Destruction of their Habitat’. Njattuvela’ a season in the Malayalam calendar when there was Through his spectacular kaleidoscope, he dazzles the reader steady rain, how this balance has been completely tilted with with an astounding species of birds inhabiting our planet and unpredictable monsoons and prolonged dry spells today. presents a disquieting spectrum of an eventuality when the She writes on how another human tragedy was precipitated human eye can no longer be enchanted by an avian collage. He by major shifts in the climate and by inconsiderate government gives us a count of the number of birds visiting Tamil Nadu policies which eventually lead to an appalling spate of suicides by in the past and provides the current numbers recorded which farmers who no longer had the sustenance to combat these un- show a dramatic decline in the population of various species of requiting circumstances. Subini sees only more struggles ahead birds. “Emergence of large metropolitan cities, environmental for a farmer with climate projections indicating that the increase pollution, pollution of water bodies, oil spills, use of chemical in temperature over the country is likely to be around 3°C by the fertilizers and pesticides, looting of mineral rich beach sands end of the century. and river sands, etc. have all adversely affected these habitats,” The articles not merely capture the apprehensions of these he writes. writers who have meticulously studied the milieu in which their Making his case for justice, he says, “These birds, while adding fellow communities live but also how in many distinct ways beauty to our land and water bodies, also play an important role the lives of these communities are being rendered more and in our environment. When the birds migrate they feed on the more vulnerable to the point of precariousness by an increasing worms and insects, thereby helping in checking the population manifestation of climate change. The pace is accelerating and calls and controlling the menace. Their excreta form natural manure. for looking beyond mitigation and adaptation, and at the very The time has come to protect not only the habitats of migratory real specter of vast swathes of refugees, climate refugees, hanging birds, but also the lives of the most vulnerable societies who are on to a straw in a sea of destitution, hunger, disease and death in no way responsible for climate change.” haplessly perishing around the globe. We must face up to the In the article ‘Climate Justice - What does it mean for coastal unequal burdens created by climate change and find urgent ways communities?’ Oamjie John, development researcher and activist to redress them. Policy on how to fairly share the benefits and from Kerala states that the impact of climate change will be burdens of climate change needs to be the immediate priority of severe on the coastal communities. He is disconcerted that Kerala both national and international action because, with the passing does not have a scientific policy document on climate change of the tipping point, that straw will only be an illusion of climate which is context specific. Interviewing a cross section of fisher justice.

2 Towards low carbon agriculture M.N. Kulkarni

n 2012-13, only two farmers in my village had applied chemical “Ifertilizers for the ground nut crop. Others applied only organic manures like vermi compost and Nadep compost”, says Sri Palanaik, a young farmer from Kariyammanapalya village, Pavagada taluka, Tumkur district, Karnataka. The 108 farmers who have applied only organic manures may not be aware of the Traditional mixed farming did not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides GHG emissions from the production and transportation of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but are and pesticides were organized on a war footing basis. The media definitely aware of the damage it caused to the soil. was used efficiently to highlight the results of these modern Of late, agriculture universities and scientists are speaking practices. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides were supplied to about the ill effects of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and the farmers at subsidized costs. The societies in the villages supplied advocacy for alternatives is gaining momentum. The Government fertilizers on loan basis. Easy availability of inputs and increased of Karnataka’s initiative for supporting farmers to adopt organic yield motivated the farming community to adopt the modern farming practices in selected villages is a good start towards methods of cultivation. Thus, in a span of 10 to 15 years, modern finding alternatives to chemical and carbon intensive agricultural agriculture practices have replaced majority of traditional soil practices. nutrient management practices. By 1980, farmers became Climate change is an issue of greater concern to humanity, and completely dependent on external sources for seeds, fertilizers mitigation and adaptation measures are to be initiated as early as and pesticides. Nobody dared to assess the impacts these had on possible. the soil, animals, vegetation and human beings. “Atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane and nitrous Cattle herds became insignificant with the easy availability oxide, all broke fresh records in 2013. Global concentration of of fertilizers coupled with scarcity of wage labourers. Farmers CO2, the main culprit in global warming, soared to 396 ppm last started to reduce the herd size, which used to be the primary year, 142% over the pre industrial level, defined as before 1750.1 source for soil fertility management (dung from the herd, cattle The increase of CO2 was 2.9 ppm between 2012 and 2013 alone, urine, leftover fodder and agricultural residues mixed together the largest annual increase in 30 years. We must reverse this produced large quantities of farmyard manure). Mechanization trend by cutting down the emission of CO2 and other greenhouse of agriculture with the introduction of tractors also contributed gases”, said the report released by the World Meteorological to the reduction of livestock. Thus, in a period of twenty years Organisation on 9th September 2014. “We know without any agriculture in the country became carbon intensive and heavily doubt that our climate is changing and our weather is becoming dependent on external sources with the use of fertilizers, tractors, more extreme due to human activities such as burning of fossil threshing machines, decorticators, irrigation, etc. fuels. We are running out of time”, warned Mr. Michel Jarraud, the head of the World Meteorological Organisation. Fertilizer production The major contribution of greenhouse gases from agriculture Ammonia and nitric acid are raw materials for many nitrogen is from the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The saga containing fertilizers. The phosphate in fertilizers originates of chemical fertilizers and pesticides started around 1960. mostly from phosphate rock and/or phosphoric acid. Potassium The traditional methods of soil fertility management included sulphate and potassium chloride are products of mining. The application of farmyard manure (FYM) in large quantities, compound fertilizers are blends of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and application of tank silt, winter ploughing, multiple cropping, Potassium containing components. crop rotations, sheep penning, etc. But growing population and Natural gas is the main raw material for ammonia production continuous drought like situation lead to scarcity of food in the with approximately 80% of world ammonia capacity being country. This had forced the country to conceive the concept of produced from natural gas (EFMA, 2000a and Patyk, 1996). In Green Revolution. India 50% of the ammonia production is based on other fossil The department of agriculture in the states were entrusted with fuels such as oil and coal.2 the responsibility of spreading the Green Revolution concept. The share of different fossil fuels used as feed and fuel for Field demonstrations using hybrid seeds and chemical fertilizers ammonia production and the energy efficiency of ammonia

3 production in India is as follows: for irrigation. The carbon footprint of different fertilizers is presented in the Energy source Percentage following table. Natural gas 26.50 Carbon footprint Fossil fuel 18.70 Name of the fertiliser (in kg CO2eq/per kg N) Coal 54.70 Energy efficiency (GJ/t NH3) 47.60 Urea 7.41 Ammonium nitrate 11.80 Huge amount of carbon dioxide is being released to the Ammonium sulphate 5.20 atmosphere in the process of fertilizer production. In India, an Single super phosphate 0.21 average of 5.21 tons of carbon dioxide is being released to the Trible super phosphate 0.59 atmosphere for the production of one ton of ammonia. Rock phosphate 0.31 Below is a table showing greenhouse gas emissions and energy Potassium sulphate 0.31 use from mining of fossil fuel to its usage in ammonia production DAP 6.76 in different global regions. NPK complex fertilisers 11.75 GHG emission Energy use MJ/ Region ton CO2 eq/ton ton NH3 (Aver- The use of nitrogenous fertilizers is high in India (78 to 80%) NH3 (Average) age) compared to other fertilizers like sulphur, potash, etc. However farmers and others concerned with agriculture are not aware Western Europe 2.34 41.6 of the quantity of GHG emission from the application of each North America 2.55 45.5 kilogram of chemical fertilizers. Russia and Central 3.31 58.9 To cite an example of the enormity of the problem: the Europe estimated use of Urea per year for Karnataka is 1.5 lakh tons. China and India 5.21 64.3 The carbon footprint of urea per kg equivalent of CO2 is 7.41 kg. Rest of the world 2.45 43.7 The total GHG emission from the production and application of World average 3.45 52.8 urea in Karnataka alone will then be 11.1 lakh tons. The same method can be applied to understand the GHG emissions of other Carbon footprint of fertilizers: Our lifestyle determines our fertilizers. The situation is alarming and it calls for urgent action carbon footprint. Our carbon foot print will be high if we use to change our agricultural practices. motor vehicles, home appliances like refrigerators, fans, coolers, heaters, etc. The use of public transport, solar energy, etc. reduces Alternatives to chemical fertilizers our carbon footprint. Similarly, in agriculture, carbon footprint 1. Farmyard manure (FYM): This traditional practice is will be high if farmers use tractors, mechanized threshers, etc. disappearing due to reduction in the livestock. There is need to instead of bullocks for ploughing, threshing and transportation. revive and promote this practice. This method can be converted Carbon footprint increases further if farmers apply large quantities into heap method of composting with training and awareness so of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and use diesel or electricity that farmers can produce good quality manure. 2. Silt application: In traditional farming practice, silt from tanks was added to FYM pits or applied directly to the farms. This is rarely seen nowadays. The other benefits of this practice include increased water holding capacity of the tank and groundwater recharge due to desilting. Hence, reviving this traditional practice can help in sustainable management of water resources and soil fertility management. 3. Winter ploughing: In earlier days, farmers used to plough the fields during December and January to overturn the soil and mulch it with stubbles, crop residues and other weeds, which helped in improving the soil fertility. The reduction of livestock has had a direct impact on the amount of farmyeard manure available 4. Sheep/cattle penning: This practice

4 Cattle penning, once widespread, only exists in a few pockets today still exists in traditional sheep rearing regions. Cattle penning residues, dried leaf litter, fodder remains, etc. layer by layer. Cow and donkey penning can still be seen in Raichur district and in dung slurry and top soil have to be added after each layer. The top Tumkur and Arasikere area respectively. The dung and urine layer is then covered with soil. Maintaining moisture is important. from these animals helps to improve soil fertility. About three ton good quality compost can be harvested in three 5. Multi cropping: Mono cropping drains the nutrients from the to four months. Four to five tons is required for an acre of land. soil while mixed cropping replenishes the soil. In the traditional 3 practice, farmers used to grow cereals (finger millet, sorghum, Composition of nutrients in different composts bajra) with legumes (red gram, cow pea, green gram). Cereals % of NPK available Name of fertilisers draw nutrients from the top soil while the legumes draw nutrients Nitrogen Phosphorous Potash (K) from the deeper layers of the soil. They enrich the top soil with Farm yard manure-FYM 0.50 0.25 0.50 leaf litter and fix the atmospheric nitrogen into the soil through Vermicompost 2.00 1.00 1.50 its root nodules keeping the soil fertile throughout. Tank silt 0.30 0.30 0.30 6. Vermi composting: Vermi composting is the anaerobic decomposition of semi digested organic matter using earthworms. Sheep manure 2.00 1.30 2.50 A pit of one meter width, one meter length and half a meter depth Nadep compost 1.20 0.90 1.00 will need 1000 earthworms. About 3 quintals of compost can be harvested from a pit of this size. Farmers can increase the length 8. Green manure: Green manures provide NPK readily to the of the pit according to their requirement, but depth and width crops. Green manure has to be mulched into the soil when the should remain the same. The pit is filled with organic matter like crop is 30 days old or before flowering. Pulses like cow pea, sun crop residues, dried leaf litter, fodder remains, etc. layer by layer. hemp, horse gram, etc. can be used as green manures. The green Cow dung slurry has to be added after each layer. Moisture has manure crops are estimated to fix 50 to 60 kg nitrogen per hectare to be maintained by watering the pit at least two times a week. which is readily available for the crops. The organic matter has to be turned over once every week. Composition of NPK in green manure crops4 Earthworms are added to the pit after 15 days. The compost can be harvested after 70 to 80 days. Up to four tons of compost is % of NPK available Name of crop required for an acre of land. Nitrogen Phosphorous Potash (K) 7. Nadep composting: Sri Namadevarao Pandaripande, a Sun hemp 0.75 0.25 0.50 progressive farmer from Maharashtra, has developed this aerobic Dhaincha 0.62 1.00 0.40 composting method. A diagonal structure measuring three Horse gram 0.33 0.30 0.30 meter length, one meter width and one meter height is to be constructed. The structure can be made either with bricks or by Green gram 0.72 1.30 0.52 using locally available materials like coconut fronds etc. Like in Cow pea 0.71 0.90 0.58 vermi composting, fill the structure with organic matter like crop

5 Application of bio fertilizers is mainly done through seed treatment where seeds are treated with the bio fertilizer solution two to three hours before sowing. Seedlings of chilly, paddy, vegetables can be dipped in the bio fertilizer solution before planting.

Application of bio fertilizers for different crops5 Name of bio Quantity /hectare Crops fertilisers Rhizobium 500 gram Groundnut and all pulses Azospirrillum 500 gram Cereals, sugar cane, vegetable crops and cotton Azatobacter 500 gram Cereals and oil crops PSB 400 gram All crops

Majority of the alternative practices discussed above are based on locally available materials barring bio fertilizers. In the climate change scenario and soaring prices of fertilizers, switching over to alternatives will become inevitable. Appilcation of silt from lakes enriched farmlands

9. Liquid fertilizers: References: Jeevamrutha: The ingredients needed to prepare jeevamrutha 1 Greenhouse gas levels hit new high, Deccan Herald, p-6, dated are 10kg dung, 10 liter cow urine, 2kg flour of any leguminous 10.09.2014 grains like green gram, horse gram, etc. 2kg black jiggery and half a 2 LCI data for the calculation tool, feed print for GHG emissions kg top soil. These have to be added to 200 liter water. Jeevamrutha of feed production and utilization - GHG emissions of N, P and will be ready in 7 days. The mixture has to be stirred every day. K fertilizer production by A. Kool, M.Marinussem H.Blonk, This can then be sprayed on to any crops or applied along with Blonk Consultants, November 2012. water. Jeevamrutha contains PSB, bacillus and number of micro 3 Booklet on organic farming (Savayava alavadisalu sarala vidhana), organisms. P-12, 13, 14 and 16, Part-5 published by BIRD-K, March-2009. Growth promoter: Cattle urine can be used as a growth 4 Compost production methods, Dr. M.A.Shankar et al, GKVK, promoter. Collect cattle urine in a pit dug out near the cattle shed. UAS, Bangalore DFID- NRSP , R-8912 Dilute the urine thus collected with water in the proportion of 5 Use of biofertilisers in agriculture, R.S.Sengar and R.C.Pant, 1:10 or 1:5 and spray on to any crops. The results are better if the Indian Farmers Digest, July-August, 1998 urine is from pregnant cow. 10. Organic Urea: Cattle urine is also used to prepare organic Other references urea. Fill sand in a cement tank or any container and pour cattle 1. Compost production methods, Dr. M.A.Shankar et al, urine regularly on this and mix well. This mixture is used as GKVK, UAS, Bangalore DFID- NRSP , R-8912 organic urea. Shri. K.R.Rajashekharaiah, an innovative farmer 2. Booklet on organic farming (Savayava alavadisalu sarala of Koragere village, Chikkanayakanahalli taluka, uses ash vidhana), P-12, 13, 14 and 16, Part-5 published by BIRD-K, instead of sand. This has also given good results. Preparation March-2009. and application of organic urea is one of the selected activities in 3. Use of biofertilisers in agriculture, R.S.Sengar and R.C.Pant, the GoK (Government of Karnataka) sponsored organic farming Indian Farmers Digest, July-August, 1998 project. 4. Natural way of farming by Late: Masanobu Fukuoka, Japan 11. Bio fertilizers: Bio fertilizers are micro organisms (bacteria, 5. Green house gas levels hits new high, Deccan Herald, p-6, fungi, algae) and are potential alternatives for chemical fertilizers. dated 10.09.2014 These are used to fix atmospheric nitrogen, make available 6. LCI data for the calculation tool, feed print for GHG nutrients like phosphorous, and synthesise other growth emissions of feed production and Utilization - GHG emissions promoting substances. Biological sources of essential nutrients of N, P and K fertilizer production by A.Kool, M.Marinussem include bacterial bio fertilizers, mycorrhizal bio fertilizers, algal H.Blonk, Blonk Consultants, November-2012. bio fertilizers and green manures. The bacteria that are used include the species of rhizobium, azospirrillum, azatobacter, etc. Mycorrhizal bio fertilizers, including vesicular arbascular M.N. Kulkarni is the editor of an alternative Kannada magazine mycorrhizal, aspergillus, etc., help in phosphorus fixation in the called Sirisamruddhi which focuses on agricultural issues. He can soil. be reached at [email protected] and +91-9945442761

6 Agruculture - devoted commitment to our inheritance Mallikarjuna Hosapalya he cost of cultivation is going up day after day. This is He left this company and travelled to Bangalore for a better mainly due to the increased cost of inputs like seeds, job and salary. He ended up working as a mechanic in a press Tfertilizers, pesticides, insecticides and labor, and the office earning Rs. 6000 per month. He got married to Umadevi, declining average yield regardless of the application of fertilizers a resident of Bangalore. It did not take long for the couple to and pesticides. realize that they could not lead a comfortable life with that Farmers are now aware of the harmful effects of excessive salary in Bangalore. They decided to return to the village and application of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides on take up agriculture. It is remarkable that Umadevi, a city based beneficial soil organisms and native plant species. However the girl, readily agreed to settle down in the village. damage is already done. With unproductive soil and declining However, it was not easy for them to convince his family yield farmers are getting into debt traps forcing many to commit back home. His parents pondered over his decision, unable to suicide. understand their son’s decision to return to the village when the The primiary issue with agriculture today is the unavailability youth in the village were moving to Bangalore! They tried to of adequate labor, lack of market facilities, lack of attractive prices persuade Umadevi and their son to rethink their decision and for the produce and the alarming change in rainfall pattern. As return to the city. However, this did not change the minds of the a consequence, farmers are losing hope in agriculture as a viable young couple and they went ahead with their plans and today, livelihood due to the number of factors working against them. they have created a model for the youth in the village; one where Often, the youth in the village are attracted by city life and continuing with agriculture is not a bad thing. migrate to cities and towns in search of alternative livelihoods. Paramashivaiah owns five acres of land of which one and half The only people left in the village are the aged population and acres are tank irrigated and the remaining, rain fed. Paddy is many of them are unable to continue with agriculture. grown whenever there is tank water and finger millet is cultivated The national sample survey organization has estimated that on rain fed land. about 40% of farmers are expected to give up agriculture and Paramashivaiah also planted 170 mango trees on three acres. move to cities in the next two decades. This will put agriculture His parents began to appreciate his work and supported him in and food security at risk. The migration of large number of his plans. Apart from mango trees, he also planted timber trees people from villages to cities will mean increased traffic, creation like silver oak and teak on the bunds. He transformed the fallow of new slums and much more garbage. All of this will result in an land into a productive orchard in three years. increased level of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. He also noticed the demand for sprayers in the village. He Migration of farmers from villages to towns also means that purchased four spraying machines and two gutter pumps by the cultivable land is left fallow and unproductive, consequently investing Rs.900 and started renting them to the other farmers in affecting food security at family and village levels with possible the village. Though it looked a small enterprise, it brought him impact on food security at the national level. a monthly income of Rs. 3000. He also worked as a facilitator ‘There is always light at the end of the tunnel’, so goes a for the Bhuchetana project, which brought him additional saying. This is true in the case of agriculture as well. There are income. This involvement helped him gain knowledge about several instances of educated people coming back to villages to micronutrients and the application of this knowledge on his settle down and practice agriculture in their own way adopting farm has brought in results. innovative methods - organic farming, planting horticulture, His hard efforts have started to yield returns. The mango trees timber trees, forestry trees, fodder trees, conserving natural have been yielding fruit from 2010. He has earned Rs.15,000 resources, harvesting rain water, growing green manure trees, from the sale of fruits. bee keeping, adopting traditional moisture management This prompted him to cultivate sugar cane. He has applied his practices, etc. knowledge gained from the Bhuchetana project and got a record Knowingly or unknowingly, these people are contributing yield of 120 tons per acre when the average yield in this area was towards mitigation of climate change through their environment 90 tons per acre. This earned him the ‘Best Farmer’ award from friendly approaches. the Department of Agriculture, Kunigal. Meanwhile, he also got an opportunity to work in the Cases illustrating the new trend Sujeevana Project of Initiatives for Development Foundation The Journey of Paramashivaiah to return to agriculture (IDF), an NGO in his own village focusing on sustainable Sri Paramashivaiah is a native of Ippadi village, Kunigal agriculture, for a monthly salary of Rs.6500. He followed the taluka, Tumkur district, Karnataka. He joined a company in long term sustainable agriculture concept propagated by this Mysore immediately after completion of a Job Oriented Course organization on his farm as well. and worked for this company from 2004 to 2006 for a salary of He also adopted the Guliragi concept for finger millet Rs. 4000 per month. cultivation and got a record yield of 20 quintals from an acre.

7 The University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, honored him with the ‘District Best Farmer’ award for the year 2013. He certainly is a role model for those who desire to return to their villages and earn their livelihoods from agriculture.

The Story of Gururaj Sri Gururaj, a native of Madenahalli village, Sira taluka, Tumkur district who returned from Bangalore and established a beautiful horticulture garden on his land is another interesting story. The tribal development project initiated in his village prompted him to come back and establish the orchard. Gururaj comes from a marginal farmer family. His father owns two acre rain fed land. Minor millets like finger millet, little millet and foxtail millet were grown under rain fed farming system. Dreaming of a better livelihood, Gururaj had left the village for Bangalore. He worked in an industry for seven years for a salary of Rs.5000. He sent some amount to his parents regularly. Things got worse after his father’s death in 2012. Unable to meet city life expenses, he returned to the village with the aim of doing something innovative in agriculture. He drilled a bore well at the cost of Rs.50000, but did not find water. Whatever savings he made while in Bangalore were washed away. At this juncture, a tribal development project sponsored by NABARD entered his village and his family was included for availing the benefits. This gave Gururaj new hope in his life. He involved himself actively in the project. He has done land development and treatment, planted 30 cashew and 20 mango plants in one acre and sowed seeds of fodder trees on the bunds as part of this project. He took care of the plants by watering them during summer season, protected them from grazing cattle and followed pest and disease control measures. Today, his orchard is one of the best in the project. His orchard will start giving income from 2015 onwards.

Cable operator turned agriculturist Sri Lingaraju of Madenahalli, Sira taluka of Tumkur district has given up his cable operator job and established a horticulture orchard in 1.20 acre of his land with the support of tribal development project sponsored by NABARD. “I would have remained a cable operator, if I was not included in the tribal project”, says Lingaraju. He had left agriculture 15 years ago and started to work as a waterman in the gramapanchayat. He left that job and became a full time cable operator. His land was left fallow during these years. It was a rain fed land and crops were grown only if there was good rain fall and that too only during rainy seasons. The youth in the village were moving towards Bangalore for better job opportunities since there was no Turning to agricultue. From top: Sadananada, a former bus conductor; Lingaraju, a former cable operator; Gururaj, a former employee of an industry in Bangalore; assured income from the land. Lingaraju also followed the Nagabhushan and Savitha 8 trend and left agriculture. The tribal development project was a markets. His wife, Savitha, takes care of agriculture whenever turning point in his life. To the surprise of the community, he the husband goes out for other work or to sell vegetables. “We has established a good orchard by following the guidelines of the are getting good quality vegetables, the input costs have reduced project. He built bunds, planted 30 cashew and 20 mango trees, and there is increase in the income”, says Savitha. sowed seeds, took care of the plants during the summer season and administered plant protection measures. Luckily, there was Bus conductor turned agriculturist good rainfall during the year 2013. He cultivated cucumber on Mr. Sadananda from Bomberahalli village, Challakere taluka, a small piece of land using seepage water that collected in the Chitradurga district has served as bus conductor for four years. lower catchment of his land. The horticulture plants are expected He also served as security guard for a firm in Bangalore. To the to start bearing fruit from 2015. surprise of his parents and neighbors, he returned to the village Lingaraju and his wife Manjula are happy today. “Earlier there in 2007 and started agriculture on his four acres of land. was a lot of free time. Today, we hardly get any time but we are In 2009 Mr. Sadananda took part in an exposure visit very happy to look after the crops”, explains Manjula with delight organized by the tribal development project supported by and dignity. “We are very grateful to the tribal development NABARD in Navasari district Gujarat. He was motivated by the project and will never forget the benefits. The project gave me a project’s success and decided to adopt the same interventions on new lease on life”, adds Lingaraju. his farm with support of the project. He planted coconut, glyricidia, Sesbania, melia and other The Story of Organic Farming by a Couple plants all along the farm bunds. He grew ground nut, sun This is the story of Sri Nagabhushan and Savitha of flower, onion and finger millets as intercrops. In 2013 he earned Kammanakote village, Madhugiri taluka, Tumkur district. Rs.16000 from the sale of banana and castor. The couple has shifted to organic farming practices since 2011. In 2010 he planted areca trees in between the coconut trees Earlier, Nagabhushan was working in Bangalore. He had to and adopted drip irrigation system. He has grown cover crops return to his village for domestic reasons. He is now growing for better moisture management. He grows cucumber, cow pea, vegetables using organic farming methods. He has adopted bitter gourd, marigold and fodder crops in the basin of each vermin composting, deploys a bio digester and uses only bio areca tree. He uses the vegetables for home consumption and pesticides. “We are happy with organic farming. There is not fodder for the sheep and cattle. much expenditure and our income has increased”, the couple He has also taken on sheep rearing, which has become an talks of their experience. additional income generation enterprise. He has a herd of eight He has 3.5 acres irrigated and 7.5 acres rain fed land. sheep. Whenever there is need of money, he sells a sheep. He Vegetables like chilly, tomato, brinjal and beans are grown as also purchases lambs for Rs.2000, rears them for a few months intercrops under coconut trees. He produces about 20 quintals and sells at a higher price. of vermi compost every year. This is applied to vegetable crops. In 2013, he earned a net income of Rs.20000 from the sale Vermi compost and liquid fertilizer from bio digester were of 15 sheep. He has planted sapota in one acre of land with the applied to the chilly crop during 2012 and this brought him an support from NABARD tribal project which would start yielding income of Rs.40000. by 2016. He used to get only Rs.25000 from the same acreage of land He has two cows and one buffalo in addition to the sheep. when the farm was under chemical farming. “The chilly plants There is no dearth of manure. He has thus ensured the live up to one year and bear fruit under organic farming while sustainability of his farm by integrating trees, animals, fodder they are uprooted in eight months under chemical methods”, and crops. explains Nagabhushan. He used to purchase fertilizers worth It is already an established fact that trees function as carbon of Rs.6000 for chemical farming but now he prepares his own sinks and help mitigate the impacts of climate change. Hence, fertilizer adding to his net savings. Less water is required for it goes without saying that the practices adopted by the above irrigation under organic farming. Earlier, he irrigated his land farmers and youth have a positive impact on the environment three times a week but now he irrigates his land only once a week. and in their own pastoral and agrarian ways are taking up the This is indicative of the tremendous improvement in the moisture stewardship of the environment in just ways. holding capacity of the soil. The bio digester has helped in the good growth of crops and there is less disease and pest attack. References He applies plant based pesticides to control pests and diseases. 1. TDF annual report by ORDER 2013-14 He keeps butter milk in a pot for four days and then mixes it 2. The road back to Nature, Masanobu Fukuoka, Book with water and spray the mixture on the vegetables to control venture, 1996 the sooty mould disease settling on the vegetables. He sprays the liquid solution made from chilly, garlic and soap powder to control the fruit borer on the brinjals. Mallikarjuna Hosapalya is the director of Dhanya Foundation, He is an active participant of the organic farming project in Tumkur, Karnataka. “Sri Ranga”, I-Floor, 3rd main, his village. He sells the vegetables on his own in the nearby Sadashivanagar, Tumkur-572101, Phone: 96861 94641

9 Sesame: the dismal story of a rainfed crop Ganapathi Bhat

ttu varudam kettavan ‘ ellu vidaikkunum.’ This Eis a saying in Tamil which means that any farmer who is under loss for last eight years must grow sesame; he is assured of some returns from this crop. Sesame is a drought tolerant short duration crop. The crop is harvested in just three months. A farmer can Sesame oil is not so widely used in Karnataka as far as cooking is concerned but it has a cultural significance harvest up to 3.5 quintals of sesame from an acre of land and earn Rs.30,000 at the current market yellow in color with a pleasant odour similar to that of groundnut. price of Rs.9000/quintal. This is an income without much effort. It has about 80 per cent unsaturated Oleic and Linoleic fatty acids “Growing sesame is very easy”, says Kemppanna, a sesame which is the highest among edible oils originating from plants. grower of Bande Marasandra village. “It needs less labor and This helps in cell structure formation, transportation of investment. Sow the seeds, plough the land to cover the seeds cholesterol in blood vessels and clotting of blood. Sesame oil is with earth, inter-cultivate the crop to avoid weeds, and harvest hence advised as a safe food for heart patients. after three months. No need of spending money on fertilizers Sesame oil is used for cooking in Tamil Nadu. In Ayurveda, and pesticides. Application of fertilizers makes the plant grow sesame oil is used to give body massage as it gives good relief luxuriantly but flowering and seed setting will be reduced. Since from muscle and joint pains and muscle catches. Sesame oil is also the plant itself is bitter in taste no pests are attracted to it. The only used in the manufacturing of scented hair oils, soaps, paints and thing we need is a good rainfall at frequent intervals and less of insecticides. Even the oil cake is rich in carbohydrates, proteins showers for at least a week to thresh the seeds”, he explains. and minerals, and is consumed as food. Since the oil cake is rich in phosphorus and calcium, feeding it to cattle increases the milk Queen of oil seeds yield and its fat content. Sesame is scientifically recognized as ‘Sesamum Indicum’ Sesame oil is not used for cooking in Karnataka but the seeds and belongs to the family ‘Pedaliaceae”. In Kannada, Tamil and are used in different forms in various rituals and to prepare Malayalam, it is known as ‘Ellu’, ‘Nuvvulu’ in Telugu and ‘Til’ in traditional food items like ‘Chigali tambittu’, ‘Kadubu’, ‘ellunde’, Hindi. Gingili is the other name of sesame in English. This plant ‘puliyogare’, ‘vatta kolambu’ or gojju, etc. Sesame seeds are used is believed to have originated in the African continent. It is known on the occasion of ‘pitru paksha’, a festival celebrated to remember as the first oil seed plant grown by man. The crop is best suited to the ancestors of the family. tropical climate. Sankranthi festival is also known as ‘ellu beeruva habba’ which India is the leading producer of sesame followed by China, means a day reserved for the exchange of sesame seeds, where Sudan, Mexico, Turkey and Pakistan. India accounts for 45% of ellu is mixed with groundnut, fried gram and crystal sugar. the sesame grown in the world (62.5 lakh acres). Uttar Pradesh, Sesame seed is also used during the Diwali festival where the seed Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, is sprinkled over ‘Kajjaya’, a special food made for the occasion. Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Karnataka are the major cultivators of sesame. Puttellu, dry land farmers’ delight In the state of Karnataka, Bidar, Dharawad, Gulbarga, Mysore, Puttellu is a local variety of sesame specific to Kanakapura, Raichur and Ramanagara districts are the major growers of sesame a taluka in Ramanagara district. A study conducted by the covering about 1,00,000 acres and producing about 13,000 tonnes University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, has shown that of grains annually. this variety gives more stable yield when compared to 50 other Sesame is known as the queen of oilseeds because of its superior strains put under trial. “This variety yields more oil and it has a quality of oil when compared to all other edible oils. Sesame very good flavor”, says Mohammed Shoukhath, a merchant at seed contains about 40 to 50 per cent of oils, 20 to 25 per cent the APMC (Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee) yard in of proteins and almost the same quantity of carbohydrates. 100 Ramanagara. He points out that because of these qualities, oil grams of oil produces about 560 kcal of energy. Sesame oil is pale extractors from Gujarat and Tamil Nadu prefer to come all the

10 way here to buy sesame. about 50 acres of land. The area under cultivation of Puttellu has been gradually decreasing over the years and this year none of the Concern over rainfall farmers have sown this crop. According to Dr. Chennesh, a farmer friendly agricultural This trend is seen throughout the district. The Agriculture scientist, there is not much change in the total rainfall received in Department data of net sown area of sesame is astounding! the district, but the rainfall distribution pattern has been changed. During the year 2010 sesame was grown in 14,612 acres. Since There is shortage of soil moisture in the sowing season and then it is showing a declining trend. unseasonal showers during harvesting time. Farmers are not well This year sesame was sown in only 4,425 acres. In the last equipped to cope up with this type of climatic change. five years there is reduction of about 70 per cent of the total area “Sesame is a seasonal crop and can be grown only in early under cultivation of sesame. These statistics may not cover the Kharif (April-June)”, explains Shankar who is associated with small farmers who grow sesame in a few guntas of land (1 gunta is ‘Green Foundation’, a NGO working on the preservation of crop 1/40th of an acre) for home consumption. biodiversity. “Earlier I used to take great precaution while grazing in the Farmers used to forecast an entire season’s rainfall based on farmers’ fields because sheep likes the tender sesame crop. But it is ‘Bharani’ rains. The number of days in a year is divided into 27 not the case now as most of the plots are not sown”, says Ramanna ‘Nakshatras’ (stars) and each Nakshatra will last for 13 to 14 days. (55), a shepherd from Sira village in Tumkur district who for Bharani is one such Nakshatra which begins on 27th April and the last 30 years has been coming every year to the villages of ends on 11th May every year. There is a saying in Kannada that Ramanagara District with his flock. ‘Bharani male bandre dharani tumbaa bele’ which means that if Devaraj, owner of ‘Manjunatha Provision store’ at Harohally, it rains in Bharani, then that year would assure a good harvest of sold 70 kgs of sesame this year during Ganesha festival season. crops. “But we are not sure of this now. Nowadays the Bharani Most of his customers were from the villages nearby that used to rain has become a rare occurrence and even if it rains, the other grow sesame in the past. “When I opened my shop in this village rains are highly unpredictable. The climate has totally changed”, about 15 years back, sesame was not kept for sale because there says 70 year old Umashankar of Mudenahally village. were no buyers at that time. But now everybody buys sesame”, The farmers are concerned about the changing rainfall pattern. he says. “The tank of our village is lying dry for the last ten years. We stopped growing sugarcane and paddy due to shortage of water. Curse of Climate Change There is no stored water in the tank even for the cows to drink. Being purely a rain fed crop, this has to be sown in the hot Most of our villagers stopped cattle grazing because of this summer before the pre-monsoon showers. Cultivation of this crop problem”, says Bheemaih (65) of Chikka Sadenahally village. becomes difficult if there is any deviation in the rainfall pattern. Sadenahally is a small village of about 100 households known In other words, this crop will be the first victim of climate change. for their traditional agriculture and preservation of local cow According to Narayana Reddy, a veteran organic farmer, this crop breeds. The last decade saw Puttellu being grown in this village in is almost extinct in Kolar and Chikkaballpura district because of

Sesame often falls prey to unpredictable rains

11 scanty rainfall. Farmers don’t easily give up cultivation of a crop unless they are completely disillusioned with the challenges. ‘Bharani’ and ‘Aridhra’ (June 22 to July 6) rains are necessary for this crop; Bharani for germination of seeds and Aridhra for flowering and seed setting. These are two critical stages for this crop. Disappearance of winter showers (Jan- Feb) is also affecting the cultivation of this crop. “We need early showers to prepare the land for ploughing. Ploughing helps in the infiltration of water. It also keeps the land ready for sowing. We used to get the first showers during Shivaratri festival (Feb) but not anymore”, explains Puttaswami Gowda Farmers growing sesame do not get any support from the government of Shivanahalli village. The average rainfall received in Kanakapura during this period was 5.5 mm but rainfall farmer from Kulume Bheemasandra village. The normal practice data of last 5 years shows no rainfall. is to grow sesame in the plots where finger millet was grown in the In Kanakapura the sesame crop is normally harvested in the previous year. Sesame grows well only if the soil is enriched with month of July. Dry weather is needed for drying and winnowing organic matter. of grains. In recent years the month of July has been cloudy and The government policies are also not in favor of this crop. moist. There is no subsidy or any other financial benefits for the farmers Though the expected rainfall of Kanakapura during the month cultivating this crop. “There is no crop insurance package for of July is 67 mm, it was 87, 100.2 and 85.8 mms during the years sesame. Only marketing facility is provided in the APMC yards”, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. After studying the rainfall says Timme Gowda. pattern for the last decade, Mr. Raje Gowda of the University of British climate economist, Nicholas Stern, warns that “The Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore concluded that there is a shift in impact of global warming will be evident with the onset of the monsoon showers. monsoon rains in the Indian continent. The amount of rainfall Earlier, peak months for rainfall were May, June and August received and its distribution will show drastic changes in the but now it has changed to May, July and September. This changed coming years. Due to this, a situation will arise wherein farmers rainfall pattern is disturbing the post harvest operations of the may not be able to grow certain seasonal crops. Such crops may sesame crop. gradually disappear from that location.” This sounds true for sesame cultivation in Ramanagara district. Other factors contributing to the decline of sesame cultivation The number of bullocks in the villages has been diminishing. References Ploughing by tractors is quite expensive for small farmers. Even 1. Bhardwaj R.K, Advances in oilseed research, Oxford book if they are ready to hire, smaller plots are not preferred by the company, Jaipur, 2009, Pages 14-18 tractor owners who demand a higher rate for the work. Paying 2. D M Hegde, Vegetable oils scenario – Approaches to meet high prices for ploughing is a risk factor at this stage since there the growing demands, Publisher Indian Society of Oil Research, is no assurance of further rains. Since the climate is hot and the Hyderabad,2009, Pages 247-255 sunshine is bright during these months, the soil dries up fast and 3. JA © gÁeÉÃ UËqÀ, J£ï J d£ÁzsÀð£À ªÀÄvÀÄÛ n PÉ ¥À¨sÁPÀgÀ ±ÉnÖ, eÁUÀwPÀ becomes hard quickly making it difficult to plough. vÁ¥ÀªÀiÁ£À ªÀÄvÀÄÛ ºÀªÁªÀiÁ£À ªÉÊ¥ÀjÃvÀå PÀÈ¶AiÀÄ ªÉÄÃ¯É ©Ã¼ÀÄªÀ ¥ÀjuÁªÀÄUÀ¼ÀÄ, PÀ£ÀßqÀ “Nowadays, farmers are applying more fertilizers even for CzsÀåAiÀÄ£À «¨sÁUÀ, PÀÈ¶ «±Àé«zÁå¤®AiÀÄ, ¨ÉAUÀ¼ÀÆgÀÄ, 2009, ¥ÀÄlUÀ¼ÀÄ 58 finger millet. While sowing they apply DAP and once again top 4. Pre-monsoon rainfall & Agriculture situation in dress them with Urea during tilling. This affects the water holding Karnataka-2001. Published by Drought monitoring cell, capacity of the soil making the top soil very hard and impossible Bangalore. to plough if there is not sufficient rain”, points out Shivaraju of 5. Sesame oil - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 1st September Sheetalavadi village. He has given up sesame cultivation since the 2014 last five years. Farmers are not applying sufficient quantity of farm 6. State agriculture profile—Karnataka, Published by Karnataka yard manure on finger millet plots as there are not enough cattle State Agriculture Department, 2013 to produce the manure. One tractor load of manure costs about Rs. 3000 which is far too expensive for small farmers. “Due to lesser organic matter content in the soil, the percolation Ganapathi Bhat can be contacted at ganapathibhat2011@gmail. of water into the soil is reduced”, states Ramaiah (65), organic com

12 Conscientious food habits for us and our planet Arthi Chandrasekar or a while now, I have been doing some research on what communities that have been suppressed over time in the name of forms food habits; the diversity of our palate and the health ‘development’ to give way to the half-baked knowledge that most Fand nutrition we get from what we eat. This research was of us possess. not particularly inspired by any great thinking. Rather, prompted 3. The fundamental realization that the knowledge we possess by some conversations on whether or not we could be doing is but a product of systematic advertising by big corporations; something else to lead healthier lives. linear thinking as a product of a far-removed-from-reality, school During the course of this ‘research’, I have been seeking answers education that most of us have undergone; and a lot of lethargy to some very fundamental questions. Questions such as: Where on our part resulting from a certain self-obsession to focus on does our food come from and does it provide us with the nutrition ‘just’ our busy lives leading to always adopting what’s convenient, we need? rather than what’s right. Is there a reason we eat what we eat? We have always heard This is what I am going to be attempting to explain now. that there is a connection between where we live and what we Let me start with the food that we are most familiar with and eat…what is that connection? For example (and though I never which we think provide us with all the nutritional needs that we preferred it), is there a reason why rice is so preferred in the need…Rice. South and deriving some insights from conversations with my Rice has been systematically monopolized through a push for grandparents over meals that we had shared, the question as to policy and economic gains not for the health of the masses and whether we had always eaten this way? certainly not for the health of the planet. It takes 3000 liters of Why do our grandmothers keep telling us that the foods they water to cultivate 1 kg of rice, which amounts to 6 million liters of used to make were very different from the foods that we eat now? water per acre of rice cultivation. The quest for answers to these questions introduced me to With the erratic availability of water for agriculture as a result some very interesting literature, subsequently leading to some of changing patterns in our climate, rice farming would probably very interesting discussions on why we cook whatever it is that be the first to face the brunt, as it cannot survive acute water we cook; about farming practices, and some thoughts on what I deprivation. So, if this is the food we are accustomed to, and over need to be doing differently on my part, both to provide for the which we hold deep-rooted belief patterns, convincing ourselves nutritional needs of my family and to play a more responsible role that they solely provide for our nutritional needs, what will we do as a consumer. when rice farming is no longer feasible? Though not really ‘intended’, what also hit me like a ton of What seems to have saved the day for some farmers is the bricks during the course of this research are the following: adoption of bio-diverse farming practices. 1. The undeniable connection between our food habits and Monoculture farming of ‘cash crops’ has led to the inevitability the delicate checks and balances of our planet – one of them the of often hearing in the news: Dependence on one crop, rising impact of farming practices and food habits on climate change. debts, and eventual suicide. 2. The need to harness the intelligence of (mostly lost) local Here is what we do not hear about and do not know about: 13 1) the systematic loss of soil fertility. Millets which are far more nutritious than rice and wheat use 2) The lure of immediate gains of growing cash crops including only 200-300 mm water compared to the 2500 mm needed for more returns for the sale of cash crops in the local Mandi (market) ‘Green Revolution’ rice farming. In a broad sense, millets are which incentivizes farmers to grow them in the first place. pest-free crops, do not need irrigation for their cultivation and can 3) The push for the heavy adoption of chemical fertilizers by grow on the ‘poorest’ of soils. corporations to keep the soil ‘producing’ which farmers who do In the hands of traditional farmers, millet farming needs not adopt bio diverse farming practices become heavily dependent zero energy input. Millet fields are traditionally bio-diverse and on. therefore sustainable in every way in its true sense, promoting a Kumaraswamy of Tiptur Taluka, for example, adopts holistic farming system. horticultural practices and has a diversified farm with millets and Millets grow with legumes as their companion crops which are other crops. He says that the problem with inexperienced farmers one of the finest carbon-fixing tools and therefore a wonderful is that they look for quicker payoffs through the use of chemical answer to the climate change crisis. fertilizers and stand to lose in the longer term as their farmlands cannot sustain the demands of industrial agriculture. Millets for food and nutrition security At a time when we should be reducing “food miles” by eating Forty-four percent of the food grains produced in India are bio-diverse, local and fresh foods, we choose to adopt monoculture millets , and yet, they are marginalized as cereal crops and ignored farming practices that ‘promote’ the growth of just certain crops completely. The PDS (Public Distribution System) makes food which increasingly deplete the soil of all its nutrients. So, the grains available to the poorer sections of the society at a subsidized questions that I pose for myself at this stage is to not just focus price. However, the PDS does this only for two grains – rice and on something exclusive such as how best to meet the nutritional wheat. needs of my family. Rather, something more inclusive such as, The rice and wheat farmers get several advantages in the form how do I best meet the nutritional needs of my family while of subsidies and a ready market through the PDS. The millet making conscious choices to encourage bio-diverse farming, not farmers, however, enjoy no support or subsidy for their farming, play a part in farmer suicides, and preserve the health and vitality and in the market, they are sidelined. of the planet (in that order). Over the last 30 years, millet farming has shrunk by 35%. Without any incentive for growing millets, four million hectares Benefits of bio-diverse farming of arable land is being wasted. Millets, if grown in these regions, Climatologists currently predict that if the trend of the last few can feed millions, while also helping India with its food security. decades continues we will see record highs and record lows in An awesome example of what was achieved since 1996 was temperature in various parts of the world, and each decade will demonstrated by the Dalit women of the Deccan Development continue to be more extreme in both highs and lows than the Society in the Medak district in Andhra Pradesh. They have decade before it. reclaimed 5000 acres, by growing millets, and have setup a A small diversified farm in Pavaguda Taluka has these – regional distribution system that feeds 50,000 families every year Coconut, Areca, Rice, Finger Millet (Ragi), Little Millet (Saamai) and provides employment to many people. and Groundnut. Bio-diverse, local, organic systems produce more The PDS, which subjects the poor to a rice diet which is full of food and higher farm incomes while they also reduce risks of carbohydrates, does not offer sufficient nutrition to the poor. On crop failure due to climate change. Plus the soil ecosystems are the other hand, millets are storehouses of nutrition and a solution preserved adequately which reduces the dependence on chemical to the problem of malnutrition plaguing the country. Maybe, fertilizers to keep spurring the soil on to produce more. This malnutrition would have never occurred in the first place if India could further increase the reliance of local communities on food had embraced her local farming practices without giving in to the sources they know best and that are best suited for the unique artificial demands created by industrial agriculture. requirements of their region. While most of us seek micronutrients such as Carotene in Chances are that an increase in the adoption of bio-diverse pharmaceutical pills and capsules, millets offer the same in farming, and consequently, a reduction/breakaway from abundant quantities. The much-privileged rice has zero quantity monoculture farming, could play a part in slowing the trend of of this micronutrient. The table below shows that by any climate change while enhancing the food sovereignty and health nutritional parameter, millets are miles ahead of rice and wheat. of local communities. Consciously, diversifying the food basket with millets: A step in Forgotten local foods that are right for us the right direction for our health as well as the health of the planet Until a few years back, when ‘development’ didn’t beckon, It is no surprise then that a part of the solution (though not millets were deeply ingrained into the culture of our communities. the only one) is simply to return to our ‘good old’ foods. The Each region had its own variation of the millet food: Jowar rotis indigenous solution was more millet-based food. I know many of in the Deccan region in South India; Bajra rotis in the west; Sattu my friends who try new fad diets such as quinoa (the grain from in the Himalayan diet; Ragi balls in Karnataka; and Khichdis, South America) and several other lifestyle food choices. porridges of Saamai, Varagu and Thinnaiin Tamil Nadu. Millet-based foods are not only much cheaper because they are

14 locally produced; they also offer much more variety and very high dinner when we eat out in many of our local Upaharas would be nutrition. We could all easily contribute to our own health as well such a treat for the body, mind, soul and our planet. as the health of our planet if we just started including millets in our daily diet. Our Role All this will take is a little understanding of the grains and your The problem of climate change can only be examined and culinary imagination! The nutritional value alone is astounding addressed in its entirety when we not just embrace the scientific and could be a big incentive for you to adopt this. Plus, the sheer or technical aspects behind it, but rather, our attitude towards variety of millets is a big incentive to try and adopt in our daily growth, our well-being, and a sense of interconnectedness with diets. Of all the millets that I have tried, I like Foxtail (navane) nature very much like the interconnectedness of the legume and the best to eat with our daily sambar or rasam. I love ragi as a the millet; the bees and pollination, the earthworm and the soil, substitute for rice in dosa or idly. and our food and our health. I love Jowar as a substitute for rice again, in Payasam. While In lieu of all this, most of the suffering is actually imposed on just one millet for all foods may not offer a great option, the use of the farmer – the only person who has a relationship with the soil, different millets in several dishes offers lots of flexibility, variety and who ends up paying a heavy and unjust price for no fault of and texture, which adds to a certain sense of prosperity and his. abundance to our palates! What can you do immediately? When you spend money, Like in most households, our grandmothers would have more whether a little or a lot, wisely or not, see that you are creating than enough resources to expose us to superb culinary ideas opportunities, supporting local economies, feeding families, using millets. Some interesting fancy recipes that I have come lessening poverty, validating life, eradicating fear, inviting magic across based on conversations with my grandmother are – ragi into your life and lifting humanity higher. idlys and dosas, amaranth cutlets, arika khichdi, korra dosa, korra Use less fossil fuels, live responsibly and consciously, grow your bajji, and saama payasam. Here are a couple of websites with great own food as much as you can (or encourage it if you can’t), save instructions on cooking methods and recipes for millet-based seeds, and add to the health of the ecosystem. Food is the place foods: www.millets.wordpress.com and www.thealternative.in that everyone can start making a change by making appropriate An innovative brand such as “Soulfull” strives to provide ragi in choices that are healthier and benefit all concerned – you, the a delicious palatable format. They source most of the ragi from an farmer, and the Earth. aggregator who in turn collects the grains from 12 to 14 villages Millets show us a way out of our food, nutrition and water around Arasikere in North Karnataka, cleans them and bags them. crises, and incidentally the effect of all of these on the climate.We It would also be lovely for restaurateurs to help popularize our must do everything we can to embrace this solution, for our own local cuisines – especially the popular food chains that we keep good and possibly even our very existence! visiting for that craving of the masala dosa with coffee or the humble idly with the vada as a part of our ‘Sunday Special Treat’. An order of a plate of ragi idlys for breakfast or sattu paratas for Arthi can be contacted at [email protected]

15 Bottled Bomb Nakkeeran

hildren dying from contaminated water have been capped peaks. A false belief is created in the mind as soon as one frequently appearing in the news. It has been estimated sees these labels giving the impression that the bottles contain Cthat every 8 seconds a child dies from drinking polluted water drawn from some pure aquatic sources. The facts however, water. (Barlow, p: 21). Not only children, even women and are far from the truth. the elderly are not spared. What is the solution for this? Is safe One brand advertised as ‘Glacier Water’ in the USA was not drinking water the only solution? Is this why we avoid drinking sourced from any glacier but from ordinary tap water. Similarly, tap water and use bottled water? it was learnt that one brand of bottled water ‘Spring Water’ was Prime Minister Gordon of the UK issued an order in March actually extracted from close to a hazardous garbage dump (CSE, 2008 that the government offices in England will not use bottled p.4). water. There is a ban on selling bottled water in the American In some bottled water samples, Benzene, Mold, Sodium city of Concorde. Similarly, bans are in place on selling bottled Hydroxide, Kerosene, Styrene, Moss, Yeast, Tetrahydofuran, water in the cities of San Francisco and Seattle and in government sand, E.coli from excreta, bacteria and insects have been found. departments of the state of New South Wales. In a study conducted by the American Society of Microbiology, There was no great fear of drinking tap water till the out of the 88 bottles of mineral water tested, 40% were found to manufacturing and bottling of water was privatized. Companies have bacteria and fungi. Although within the EPA parameters, it emerged after they saw the potential in selling bottled water. is safe to drink, it is not recommended for children, patients and Rumours started making the rounds in a big way regarding the the elderly (Huber, p.11). Further, an organisation in America unsafeness of drinking tap water. Mr. Robert S. Morrison, the NRDC collected 1000 samples of 103 different brands of bottled Chairman of the North American Division of Pepsico, openly water and did a research on their quality for a period of four years. announced, “Tap water is our biggest enemy” (Gleick, p:7). The research concluded that bottled water is in no way superior to Following that, there were series of attacks on tap water. By using tap water (Barlow, p.149). the word “pure” to describe their products, the bottled water One of the prime examples of the untruths spread by a bottled companies succeeded in indirectly creating an impression in the water company can be seen in the Fiji bottled water advertising. minds of people that tap water might not be pure. “This water comes untouched by human hands and drawn from One Texas based bottled water firm described tap water as reservoirs in the ancient rain forests” (Barlow, p.128). But when poison. Pepsico declared derisively that, “After we succeed with this water was tested, it was found that apart from volatile plastic the campaign tap water would be used only for bathing and for compounds and the presence of bacteria to an extent which washing utensils”. Neptune, a Paris based bottled water firm exceeded by 40% over tap water, even arsenic poison to the extent went one step further. In an advertisement released by the firm of 6 micrograms were present. for its ‘Crystalline’ branded bottled water, they displayed a toilet It is the same story with the bottled water sold in European next to their bottled water with a message “I will not drink the nations. Viruses have also been found in bottled water. When water used in the toilet”. This was meant to convey that tap water bottled water of 68 brands was tested, they were found to contain is good enough to be used only in the toilet (Barlow, p: 127). The Penicillium, which can spoil the food and bacteria that could bottled water firms using such advertising strategies succeeded in cause pneumonia. But beyond all these, what caused a sensation the market. was in Britain, where, in 2004, the Food Safety Agency ordered Is the tap water as frighteningly dirty or impure as is being the removal of half a million ‘Dasani’ water bottles of the Coke portrayed by these companies? The US Government imposed a Company from the retail counters! The presence of Bromides, rule stating that it was mandatory for companies to mention the which could cause damage to the kidneys, ears and the intestines source of the drinking water on the bottle labels. Pepsico, on their and if ingested in excess, could even cause death, was the reason Aquafina bottles and Coca Cola, in their Dasani bottles, and behind this order (CSE, p.4, Barlow, p.149). After this incident, several other companies started printing labels on their bottles Perrier, the popular company from the USA, hurriedly withdrew stating groundwater as their source. Real facts then became public 280 million of their bottles from 750,000 shops and counters knowledge that 40% of the bottled water in the US was sourced (CSE, p.4). from normal ground water (CSE, p: 4). The question then arose Bottled water is obtained by subjecting raw water to the reverse was that if tap water was really unsafe, why would these firms fill osmosis process, which removes all dissolved minerals making it in bottles and sell them since tap water comes from the ground. the water tasteless. At least some amounts of minerals have to be present to give taste to the water. This is the reason Coca Cola Does Your Bottled Water Have Quality? Company adds a mix containing some minerals to their bottled Advertisements lure people to buying bottled water. The water. Mr. Peter Gleick, Head of the Pacific Institute says that this printed labels on the bottles play a part in inducing a purchase. mix is being fondly called the ‘Pixie Dust’ by the trade but there is Most of the labels feature images of pure blue water or snow no transparency on the contents of the mix.

16 Is there “Purity” in Your Bottled Water? still remain un-removed (e.g. Chlorine, Chloroform). Though The consumers get carried away by the information printed on this process succeeds in filtering the minute parasitic particles, the water bottles about the various processes by which the water even a small defect in the membrane used for the filtration can is purified. They will start firmly believing that since so much result in these micro particles seeping through with the clean processing takes place, the water must be pure. Nobody cares to water. The efficacy of the membranes depends a great deal on the think as to how if they are purified in so many ways, one can find manufacturer of the membranes. Their ultimate efficiency will insecticides, bacteria and other impurities? also vary accordingly (CSE, p.11). In addition, the R.O. process The Handbook issued by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is not a foolproof method for removing the pesticides present for bottled water illustrates the common production process in the raw water. It depends on the pressure at which the water for bottled water. But all these methods are not followed by the is pumped through the membrane. Higher pressure and higher bottled water companies. Each unit follows only a few of the force in pumping will only determine the complete efficiency of prescribed water purification processes. There are shortcomings the R.O System. Shortcomings like leakages, the glue lines and even in these processes. the seals of the pressure vessels also permit the pesticides seeping through easily (CSE, p.12). Ozonation For killing the bacteria present in the water, Ozone gas is used Activated Carbon Filter instead of Chlorine. But Ozone does the job of breaking complex This process is used in a few water purification plants where organic molecules into smaller organic molecules and these chlorine, micro organic substances and pesticides get eliminated immediately become the source of food for the same bacteria that but fluoride, nitrate, lead and other heavy metals cannot be we are trying to destroy. Further, unlike Chlorine, Ozone does removed. This filter bed becomes food for the bacteria when not have the capability to retain the residual disinfectants. This is chlorine is removed. Therefore, to remove the bacteria, silver is because Ozone is nothing but powerful Oxygen gas and so it can filled in the filter bed. If this silver escapes in excess quantities turn back to Oxygen. Particularly this process takes place when into the filtered water, it could harm the body. The effectiveness the bottled water is stored through the distribution channels for and the efficiency of activated carbon filters also depends a lot weeks. Their quality is also affected badly when the water bottles on the manufacturers, the technology employed and the level of are kept in high temperature conditions (CSE, p.10). iodine inside the filter. Many companies do not buy and use these filters since it is considered expensive (CSE, p.11). Ultra Violet (UV) Ray Penetration This process is followed in small-scale units and is considered There are only lies in your Bottled Water very effective in removing microorganisms from ground water. The bottle water firms are adept at selling their products by Though the combined oxidation process of Ozonation and spinning yarns. First, they sold packaged drinking water by saying UV ray penetration is capable of removing the toxicity from it was mineral water. Today, we have the means of finding out the pesticides, it paves the way for creating some poisonous if their claim is true. Thanks to the laws enacted. The numbers substances. For example, during the oxidation process, Methyl printed on the labels on the bottles will reveal them. For mineral Parathion gets converted into highly poisonous Methyl Paraxon water it is IS: 3428 and for bottled water it is IS: 14543. which affects the DNA in human lymphocytes (CSE, p.10). Manikchand known popularly as the paan parag firm sells bottled water under the brand name oxyrich. They advertised that Micro Filtration their product has “Water with 300% more Oxygen”. Generally, When water gets passed through micro filtration units, only 3m gms of Oxygen is present in a litre of water. Even the Krypospordium, Protozoa and bacteria of sizes above 1 micron air we breathe has only 280m gms of Oxygen (Postel, p.22). So, will be removed but still this process cannot get rid of the dissolved where does this 300% come from? When questions were raised, portions of the organic substances (CSE, p.10). their website made an announcement saying “We have failed in trying to dissolve the excess Oxygen”! (P.K., p.19). Ultra Filtration The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) of Delhi and These have very small pores smaller than the micro filters and the CERS of Ahmedabad undertook studies separately at different are capable of removing viruses in addition to the micro particles points of time and they exposed the duplicity of the bottled water (CSE, p.10). In both these processes, along with the poisonous manufacturers. They only tore into their false claims. “So pure, bacteria, the beneficial bacteria also are removed which are we promise nothing”. This is the advertisement by Pepsico. Their needed to maintain good health (P.K., p.19) Aquafina bottles which were claimed to assure purest water were found to contain 13 times more Dimethoate which is carcinogenic Reverse Osmosis and affects the reproductive system (CSE, p.33). In this process, membranes with 0.0001 micron pores retain “Trust in every drop” was how Kinley urged everyone to trust the impurities and allow only water to seep through it. Lead every drop of their bottled water. But these studies exposed along with a lot of minerals and micro particles can be removed how their water contained 0.0073mgms/litre of Organo in this process but small amounts of minerals and micro particles Phosphorous and Organo Chlorine together, much in excess of

17 the 0.0005mgms/litre permitted under the standards (CSE p.23). In 10 seconds, 10,000 water bottles are manufactured and This fact had not been disclosed by the Company. discarded in the USA. In 2006, for the 1 million tonnes worth Most people who avoid a multinational company’s product plastic bottles used in the USA, 17 million barrels of crude was and wish to buy an Indian one would go for Bisleri. Maybe it is needed. This is equivalent to the fuel required to run a million cars because they claim “Bisleri Plays safe”. Safe? How safe can be for a whole year (Pacific, p.1). These figures have definitely gone gauged by the fact that their bottled water contained 400 times up now with the increase in the pace of living. more Malethion, which causes vision loss, kidney and lung The use of petroleum is not just limited to making the bottles damage (CSE, p.34). It is the duty of the governments to detect but also for transporting the bottles from the manufacturing these shortcomings. But they are in deep slumber as usual and facility to the market internationally. 25% of the bottled water it is only the voluntary organisations and NGOs who first found cross boundaries and reach the consumers of other countries out these anomalies. (Barlow, p.147). For example, Fiji Islands, a Pacific island nation, It was the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry exports bottled water to the USA. For every kilo of the imported (FICCI) that was worried about the opposition to bottled water. consignment, 26.88 kilos of water and 0.849 kilos of fuel are The then Secretary General of FICCI, Mr. Amit Mitra, in a letter needed leading to greenhouse gas emissions of up to 562 gms. written to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Public Health, stated, In Tamil Nadu bottled water produced in one place gets “It will be immature if the Government of India decides to take a distributed throughout the state. The ‘Amma’ drinking water is tough stand” (Down to Earth). bottled in northern most Gummidipoondi and sold right up to Mr. O. P. Dubey, Deputy Director General of the Indian the Southern tip of Kanyakumari. Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) stated in an interview How much would be the quantum of use of petroleum products to the Times of India: “One should not get scared of pesticides. by each of the firms engaged in the bottles water business? What In reality these are friendly to us and are responsible for helping is the amount of Greenhouse Gas emissions due to this? us to generate sufficient food” (CSE, p.26). It looks as if gifting When one seriously thinks about it, the bottled water business pesticides to the public was for him a mature decision! is one of the most polluting industries in the world. How do these pesticides mix with bottled water? First, they The empty plastic bottles being discarded are becoming a are already mixed with the ground water. The inadequacy of huge problem. It is a big lie that these are being recycled. When the purification process to remove these pesticides is the second in developed countries like the USA and Canada, only 14% and reason. In particular, the reverse osmosis process is not a complete 12% are being recycled what can one say about other countries? purification process. The water obtained from the R.O. process is (Polaris FS, p.2) mixed with the water purified by using other processes. Due to A bottle virtually contains oil (in terms of petroleum crude) to this, the efforts at removing pesticides do not yield results. This the extent of 25% of its capacity. If you add the 162ml required to is done to conform to the Indian Standards (IS) specifications for produce the bottle to the fuel used in its transportation, then you mineral content in the water being sold. If they went through reach this calculation. In other words, in every one litre bottle of the perfect process, it will remove all minerals completely (CSE, water, there is 250 ml of petrol! p.12). The plastic bottles are also responsible for generating Another inadequacy with the technology is the Ozonation pollutants like Carbon Dioxide, Sulphur Dioxide and Nitrogen process. Bromide is an ion that is harmless by itself. But during Dioxide. Further, the excessive use of these plastics could result the Ozonation process it reacts with Ozone to form Bromate. The in acid rain (Polaris FS, p.2 & Pacific FS, p.1 & 2). Our earth and Bromate ion can cause cancer if exposed for a long period (as it the life of our future generations could be adversely affected. So happens with bottled water). the people consuming bottled water should not forget that they All the reasons being cited for avoiding tap water are all found are also indirectly playing a role in precipitating these disastrous inside the water bottles. The only difference between the two is consequences by drinking this water. the price of Rs.20 which one pays for the bottled water. It is really painful to note that even those who show interest in the environment consume this bottled water without understanding There is Petrol in your Bottled Water the implications, thinking they are actually drinking pure water. What you get in the bottle is not only cold water. Hidden The time has come for us to think about the extent of their carbon in them are also the Greenhouse Gases which are warming up footprint and take the lead in avoiding bottled water. this earth. Matt Barlow, a writer on Hydrology, says that the bottled water industry is one of most polluting industries on There are Diseases in your Bottled Water earth (Barlow, p.147). The plastic bottles used as containers for By drinking bottled water we are turning the whole world into carrying the water is itself the first reason. It is estimated that a dump yard and we are turning our bodies also into a garbage some 2.5 million tonnes of plastics are utilised to make bottles bin for diseases. Peter Gleick states that there are 16 different for packaging water every year the world over. Since petroleum is organic substances which are capable of leaching into the water the origin for all plastics, one can make out that for every 100,000 in these plastic bottles (Gleick, 2010, p.91). Out of these 3 are plastic bottles around 1800 kilos of carbon emissions will occur very dangerous; they are Bisphenol A (BPA), Phthalates and (Barlow, p.147). Antimony.

18 Bisphenol A (BPA) figure is very low when compared to that in Europe (111 ltrs) and Even a very small quantity of this could lead to changes in the the USA (45 ltrs), India still ranks among the top 10 bottled water- genes of humans and animals and can lead to prostate cancer. It can consuming countries (BWII Web). lead to reduction in the sperm count. The laboratory experiments There is a bit of information for everyone who buys and drinks prove that female species of animals were found to attain puberty bottled water. When you drink a litre of water it is not just one litre. much earlier than normal. The Americans, who use plastic bottles There are 5 litres of ‘virtual water’ hidden inside it. So, to drink one extensively, are prime examples of a population attaining puberty litre of water, we are wasting 5 litres of it. We have no right to do early. The serum of 90% of Americans has been found to contain this, because the water is not our exclusive resource. It has to be these organic substances (Royte, p.151). But the US Government bequeathed to our next generation. Our forefathers safely left the was indifferent. In spite of this indifference, the awareness on BPA water for us to enjoy and we are benefitting from this. If they had spread among the public and the bottled water companies came used up all this water, what would have been our condition? Water under a lot of pressure. Rather than making efforts to commission is a resource meant not only for us humans. This is common for all research studies on the effects of BPA, they ended up spending 7 living beings. If the only way to drink water is to pay Rs.20 and buy billion dollars on advertising that these organic substances were a bottle of water, what would the animals and birds do? safe! Even then these lies did not hold. Today, even Tamil publications one can see advertisements The Life of Your Children is Hidden Inside Your Bottled Water mentioning “BPA –Free” PET Bottles. If there was no harm caused Our people were thrilled to hear that the Tamil Nadu by BPA, we should ponder why there should be a necessity to government decided to sell bottled water at Rs.10 as against mention this “BPA- Free”. the market price of Rs.20. But they easily forgot that there is a It took 50 years for the USA to reach this conclusion but by Supreme Court order confirming that the fundamental rights to then many of their citizens were affected. The government did not life conferred by the Indian Constitution on each and every Indian make any announcement about the relief for these affected people. citizen includes access to pure drinking water (M.V., web). The The bottled water companies too did not take any responsibility government has chosen to ignore this and the people have not and were not mentioning that they are BPA free on the labels of questioned, as to how a government can commercialise water, their bottles. which is the fundamental right of the citizen, and sell it to the very same citizen in subversion of the country’s Constitution. Starting Pthalates with a small plastic pouch to a 20 litre can, the business of water This organic substance is used for melting in the manufacture has become a cottage industry in Tamil Nadu. Water is being of plastics. It can cause damage to the Endocrine glands, which indiscriminately drawn from bore wells and wasted completely. are related to the reproductive capacity in humans. It can also be This is in contravention of the law. the reason for reduction in sperm count, liver cancer and kidney Plachimada, in Kerala is a prime example where the Coca damage. Cola company used up all the ground water and left the place dry and were made liable to pay Rs.216 crore in damages. In spite Antimony of this, there is indifference and in many cases ignorance to the When this enters the system, it can cause nausea, vomiting consequences of such actions. and giddiness. It is said that it is present only below the levels “Water is our fundamental right. We should not under any permitted. But this is exactly how the story on BPA unfolded. We circumstances pay for it”. In many foreign countries, this feeling needed 50 years to fully comprehend its real character! What is the has already taken root and people have started agitations against assurance that in the future, they may announce that Antimony bottled water. is also equally harmful? How long do we have to wait till the full Today the global business of bottled water is worth around 6 truth about all these organic substances is revealed? Till then billion US Dollars (SB, web). But the number of people who still do we continue living a life of diseases? After knowing all this, do not have access to safe drinking water is 708 million, which if we continue drinking bottled water, who is responsible for it? is 2 ½ times the population of the USA. If this is to be put in Certainly, it is the one who consumes it because no water bottling perspective, one in every 9 people in this world is yet to get pure company is going to pay for a person’s medical expenses. drinking water. If one sixth of the turnover of the bottled water business is spent, it is sufficient to provide pure drinking water to There are 5 litres more of water hidden in your Bottle of water all people across the world. Then the number of deaths that occur Chennai is the bottled water consuming capital. Chennai every year from drinking polluted water which is more than those consumes a fourth of the total bottled water consumed all over who die in wars can be stopped and the people can get what is their India (SutruChoozhal, p.18). Out of the total 1200 bottling plants, inherited legitimate right. 600 are in Tamil Nadu (BWII. Web). Chennai topped in sales for the recently launched Tata Plus branded bottled water. It is estimated that the bottled water business in India might Nakkeeran is a freelance writer and an environmental activist touch Rs.150 million by the year 2015. Currently the average based in Chennai. He regularly writes for the little magazines of consumption is hovering around 0.5 litre per head. Though this Tamil Nadu.

19 Vanishing coasts Arunkumar P. or the first time in the Earth’s history it appears as to governments regarding wetlands as wastelands. As a result, though the Homosapien species will bring about mass unregulated development activities are being carried out in Fextinctions. Studies show that the industrial revolution these zones, resulting in degradation of this pristine and fragile has been responsible for greenhouse gas emissions to the extent ecosystem. Marshlands, sand dunes and wetlands, which form of 70 million tonnes in the last century alone. After the nineties, part of the maritime mosaic, are being bought at a pittance by the the Earth experienced nine of the ten hottest years in its recorded growing corporate sector. No amount of money can compensate history. Communities across the globe are witnessing changes in for the ecological services rendered by these ecosystems. These their climate. wetlands recharge ground water, support the livelihoods of Unpredictable rainfall, prolonged summer, melting of glaciers, local communities and are home to millions of migratory birds. floods, cyclones, etc. are creating havoc in the lives of people who Wetlands and sand dunes form natural barriers which further are socio-economically backward. protect local communities from heavy rains, cyclones and As the IPCC reports points out climate change will take a hurricanes that would otherwise inundate their land. heavy toll on nearly forty percent of the global population. Small It is high time the government machineries rethink their plans island nations such as Maldives and many other small islands for costal ecosystem management. The tsunami that hit the south may disappear in the next fifty years as their landmass is below eastern coast of India in 2004 taught us hard lessons in our the sea level, even though their contribution to greenhouse gas disaster management and rehabilitation measures. emission is negligible. Financial support poured in but poor strategies left a void Adding insult to the injury, many are unaware and deprived space in the lives of these fisherfolks. Their rehabilitated homes of disaster preparedness. The comparison of death toll figures could never become a replacement as they are miles away from during climate disasters in the developed and underdeveloped the shore which practically curb their access to the sea. In a world underlies the truth behind climate justice. few places, sand dunes were destroyed to make way for their The article explores the preparedness of the coast which is rehabilitation, making them even more vulnerable to natural deemed to be affected by climate change disasters. It clearly calamities of a similar nature. brings out how the so called developmental models are fast degrading the natural barriers that have protected the coast line Paradise in paradox from nature’s furies for millennia. The beach is an interface ecosystem between the sea and the land. This space is important for traditional fishing communities. Wetlands or wastelands This is where they normally park their catamarans, dry their The efforts to conserve forests are much greater than those fishing nets and auction fish caught during the day. The erosion undertaken to protect coastal ecosystems. This is largely due of beaches along the Tamil Nadu coast has been enormous in

Coastlines throughout the country have witnessed extensive erosion

20 the last 30 years. The sea invading the land and eroding coastal The loss of sand dunes affects not only the people living near villages have become common, endangering the lives of the local the coast but also the farmers in the neighbouring delta region. communities living near the coast, especially during extreme The destruction of the sand dunes causes salt water inundation weather conditions. further inland which affects agricultural activities as well. To add The coastal villages north of the famous Pondicherry rock beach to the woes of the local communities, beach side developments lost their beach in two decades. The beach ecosystem often surged extract large quantities of ground water using the most modern by waves can be equated to a sand river. The sand deposits keep technology, resulting in salt water intrusion and thereby constantly moving from North to South, in accordance with the increasing hardness of the groundwater. The drinking water all waves and littoral drifts (movement of sand in accordance with along the Coramanadel coast has lost its natural taste and has the waves). Such natural processes are disrupted by structures put turned saline. In the last ten years, people living on the coast have up on the coast. The sea walls created with heaps and pillars of habituated to drinking bottled water. stones to stop erosion results in the adjoining coastal area getting The sand dunes not only act as natural barrier but it serves as eroded putting the lives of people living there in jeopardy. a breeding ground for millions of marine turtles migrating for The coastal infrastructure development plans not only need breeding purposes. Their numbers have dwindled in the recent engineering brains but a shrewd ecological mind as they are fragile decade as their breeding ground is constantly disturbed by ecosystems stringed with constant natural variation. As per the human interference mainly due to the hospitality industry. Coastal Zones Regulation Act, no new construction is allowed up to 500 meters from the highest point of the tides (this tide line Aquaculture, a bitter lesson of blue revolution keeps changing based on several factors like the wind and tide). The Blue Revolution resulted in the expansion of aquaculture. A bird’s eye view of the Coramandel Coast today however, gives Shrimp farms started springing up all along the coastal region. you a completely different picture. Hotels, factories, salt pans, There are more than 50 such shrimp farms between Chennai and shrimp farms, etc. occupy these shorelines displacing fisherfolk Mahabalipuram. from their important land resource. In the Cauvery delta, the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu, prime agricultural land is being converted to shrimp farms. Generally Scratching the natural barrier these shrimp ponds are constructed on the mouth of streams. Sand dunes are formed by the action of winds and tides. They These shrimp ponds cause severe ground water salination. act as natural lines of defence for the people living in coastal Farmers of Kadaimadai in Nagapattinam regret taking up shrimp areas from the impact of calamities like cyclones and hurricanes. farming as it has damaged their entire irrigation infrastructure. By pillaging the natural makeup of these coastal areas we When the killer tsunami waves struck the coast in 2004, the end up intensifying the devastating effects of climate change. people of Nagapattinam could virtually notice the humongous Studies done after the Tsunami have established that all the waves fast approaching but they could not venture out of the villages adjacent to sand dunes dodged the worst of its impact. fenced infrastructure since most of these infrastructures have a An example is Poigainallur, a village located in the district of single in and out entry point, resulting in loss of several lives. Nagapattinam that has sand dunes measuring 30 to 40 feet which Further, these shrimp farms extract large chunk of groundwater reported no deaths. and discharge hazardous chemicals into the nearby fresh water Star hotels and holiday homes are being constructed by structures which spoils its ecology and algal blooms arise out of destroying the sand dunes close to the high tide line. Almost all it. development activities and plans along the Coramandel coast have come up within 100 meters from the beach. These constructions, Crippled Reports of Environment Impact Assessment which are in clear violation of the Costal Regulations Act, have Every development project seems to only suck away at the not been stopped and the proprietors have not been penalised. earth’s natural resources and do not take into consideration its

Pictures of Pondicherry beach in 1986 and 2002 show the extent of erosion that has taken place

21 effect on the local communities. Any large development project the disappearance of one third of the fishing resources on the undertaken has to mandatorily start with an Environmental Coramandal coast. Impact Assessment Report. The most important activity before All those whose livelihood is depended on fishing have the report is drafted is to gather public opinion. However, public abandoned the sea and moved to the mainland in search of work. opinion is simply being followed as an inconsequential ritual and Even if the discharges by industries cannot be avoided, there must not taken seriously into consideration before approving projects. be regulations to treat this before letting it drain into our oceans. This can clearly be seen in the case of thermal power stations that are being set up near coastal areas because these plants need Is this Suicide or Self Protection? a great deal of water and also because imported coal can be As a mitigation measure to reduce the impact of coastal conveniently shipped here. calamities arising due to climate change and protect the lives of The SIPCOT industrial area in Cuddalore ranks 16th among people living there, the government of Tamil Nadu with the help the most polluted places in the country. Large chunks of land are of multinationals and NGOs planted casuarina trees all along bargained for negligible amounts and acquitted for these projects. the east coast. They believed that these casuarina trees would The project aims at setting up of oil refineries, thermal power act as barriers in the event of a natural disaster. History informs plants, a ship building yard, dyeing units and so on. People are us that way back in 1920 the British had planted casuarina trees well aware that, the setting up of these power plants so close to in the coastal towns of Odisha primarily to meet their firewood the coast was just so that water could be easily drawn from the sea needs. The Tsunami that hit Orissa in 2004 carried away all the and the resulting effluents discharged back. There is a thermal casuarina trees planted there, which showed that these trees power station every forty kilometres down the east coast. The offered no protection as previously envisaged. water discharged is hotter than the sea water by around 6 to 12 A survey on casuarinas on the east coast of India revealed degrees. 200,000 gallons of warm water is likely to be discharged that casuarinas can in no way function as a natural barrier and every day by a thermal power plant with a capacity of 1000 MW. since these trees were planted at the highest point of the tides, This warm water causes what is known as thermal shock they have become a cause for ecological disturbance. As they are which kills countless aquatic organisms including micro plants. planted at high tide line, the surf and splash of tide surge and Data indicates that every one hour, wastewater containing 25 easily uproots the casuarinas. Kilos of Chlorine is being discharged into the sea. The chlorine This phenomenon can be observed frequently in the east coast wastes being discharged from these thermal power stations road. Whereas, the indigenous vegetation comprising of Ipomea will greatly reduce the chlorophyll content of the micro plants vines, Spinifex littoralis protects the beach from sand erosion (planktons) in the sea. These micro plants form the first trophic by trapping the sand particles which is blown away by the wind layer of the marine food chain. In addition to this, they play an through its foliage. important role in the oceans carbon cycle, making oceans a larger These plants grow on the sand dunes and are capable of slowing carbon sink than rainforests.(An Environmental Assessment of down the wind speeds and the relationship that exists between Bay of Bengal, 1994, SWEDMAR)The Environmental Impact the sand and these plants create a balance that help the dunes Assessment reports however, conclude that these plants are not maintain their structure thus providing stability to the shore. going to affect fishing even a little bit, which is a downright lie! Contrary to this the casuarina trees which are planted near the high tide line with their roots embedded firmly in the sand, stops A Waste Basket called the Sea All roads lead to Rome likewise all waste canals lead their path towards the sea or a water body. The industrial clusters in Chennai, Cuddalore and Tuticorin, all fall in the Red Schedule (i.e. industries identified by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt of India, as heavily polluted). The effluents discharged from these industries are highly carcinogenic. This cancer causing waste affect the coastal community the most and the governments’ complete disregard for the lives of these people is one of the worst social injustice heaped on them. Continuous discharge of such effluents to the sea has also contributed to overfishing leading to Native varieties of mangroves (pictured above) are much better at preventing

22 the natural movement of the sand. Due to this, excess denuding main purpose of congregating to these shores is to lay eggs, which of sand takes place at other locations on the coast. The casuarina they bury in the sand. But now the casuarina trees have taken up trees are also an invasive alien species that inhibit the growth of their nesting sites, which have led to a drastic fall in the number of the native vegetation. turtle coming ashore. The roots of the casuarina trees which grow laterally are a Exotic or natives- lessons from nature hindrance, causing these turtles to find alternate shores. Plants The post tsunami study done by Wildlife Trust of India came which grow naturally like Ipomea, Spinifex were replaced by to the firm conclusion that the land use changes along the East casuarina trees to create an inoperative bulwark. Plants that Coast were responsible for the losses incurred during the tsunami naturally grow on the sand dunes trap the fine sand being blown in 2004. Further, these studies reported that, while most of away in the wind. the mangrove and other indigenous trees stood fortified when Another cause for concern with casuarina plantations is that cyclones or hurricanes hit, the casuarina trees were uprooted. when the Olive Ridley turtles lay eggs in pits under the casuarina Areas like T.S. Pettai, M.G.R. Nagar and Kalaignar Nagar trees they don’t receive enough sunlight, resulting in a longer located near the Pichavaram mangroves largely escaped the incubation period, which end up producing only male hatchlings. impact of the tsunami. The people living there reported that the The native vegetation on these shores includedMundagam giant waves of the tsunami were blocked by the mangrove and the (Pandanus Tectorius), Vembu (Azaridacta Indica), Serundhi, flood waters drained into the surrounding lagoons, marsh land Punnai (Calophyllum Inophyllum) and Gnazhal (Cassia Sophera). and creeks. Ancient Sangam literature describes these shores as littoral Another opinion among the local communities was that, the forests. The remnants can be seen even today in Sriharikota, Point villages which had Palmyra and coconut trees growing around Calimere and as sacred groves along the Coramandel coast. their periphery suffered less damage. Studies done in the district A beautiful poetic description of the seashore in the Tamil of Kendarpara on the coast of Odisha reported that villages Classic Aga Naanuru goes like this: surrounded by mangroves were protected from severe cyclones and hurricanes and those coastal villages which had casuarina “The white female Olive Ridley Turtle lays its eggs by trees around them suffered major damages. burrowing into the sand dunes. The gambling dice shaped These studies further indicate that the process of planting the eggs are carefully covered with sand and concealed with casuarina trees, by degrading the sand ridges has been directly the help of the ipomea vines which she pulls together responsible for the serious damages and losses caused. We can over the nests. Following which the Male turtles incubates further learn through these studies that the bulwark of casuarina the eggs attentively as is his duty till the eggs are ready to trees that was created throughout the East Coast region have in hatch.” no way been able to restrict the impact of the furious waves of the tsunami. These lines above illustrate a complex life system that has Every year the Coramandal coast witnesses the migration of evolved over years and we, who have just arrived, destroy them millions of Olive Ridley Turtles that come ashore to lay eggs. The in no time.

Construction of backwaters have exacerbated erosion instead of preventing it

23 Seawalls, an invited agent of erosion Redefining Development Policies Though the rising sea level and corresponding coastal erosion Fishing communities are literally caught between the devil can be attributed to climate change, the buildings and structures and the deep sea. On the one hand there are the calamities that have come up near the coast exacerbate the situation by brought about by climate change and on the other the ecological accelerating the rate of erosion. degradation endangering their lives and livelihood in the name of A classic example is that of the port constructed near coastal management and development. They are trapped between Thengaithittu, Pondicherry in 1989. To protect the harbour from resource conservation and development. Their only reward is a sea erosion breakwaters were created in 2005. The average long cockamamie mirage of development for which they have lost their shore drift (movement of sand on the shoreline) under normal lands and livelihood. Even the policies meant for the protection circumstances is 0.5 million cubic metres of sand per annum. Since of the coasts and its inhabitants are being sacrificed at the altar this natural adaptation is being blocked by the breakwater, it has of economic development. The time has come to redefine coastal resulted in the speeding up of sea erosion north of this location conservation and management. Pressure of population and in places like Kurusukuppam, Solai Nagar, Thandhirayankuppam development has turned small streams to sewage lines, destroyed and Bommaiyarpalayam. The rate of sea erosion has increased mangrove trails and turned the local people into environmental manifold and the fishing villages have lost large expanses of their refugees.When lopsided economic development activities affect beach the environment, it is the poor who pay the price. If one were Within three months of the sea walls being erected, about 60 to calculate the cost of sacrifice, disease and conflict borne by metres of the sandy beaches in the villages mentioned above, to the the coastal communities, the quantum of royalties paid by the north of Puducherry was subject to sea erosion. The breakwaters capitalists to the government is next to nothing. created have led to the erosion of 74,000 square metres of sand. To say that our political indecisions have accelerated the (i.e. for every one metre of the sea wall, 3.6 metres of the beach has damaging effects of climate change is no exaggeration. The been lost to erosion). prevailing global economic environment is doing a big disservice The Puducherry port that extends just 300 metres has brought to the poor communities with policies that will aggravate climate about severe geological and ecological changes in coastal regions change. Unless we change our culture of consumerism, we cannot extending up to 20 kms. combat the effects of climate change. Economic growth and To site another example, what is now known as the Marina modernisation are inevitable for any country, but when this turns beach was artificially created as a bulwark to stop the sea erosion into plunder for profit mongering with complete disregard for the and protect the harbour by stopping the drift of the sea side stand. environment, the ones most affected are the poor. As a Native But in the last 40 years, the Marina beach has lost about 350 American proverb says, “We do not inherit the Earth from our hectare of land to its north. Is the government seriously weighing ancestors; we borrow it from our children.” the geological degradation such projects result? The answer could actually be in the negative. The saga of constructing sea walls by spending millions despite these many lessons doesn’t end. Arunkumar can be contacted at [email protected]

Fishermen have been hard hit by the erosion of beaches. Spaces to dry their nets, park their boats etc. have shrunk or in some places altogether disappeared

24 Palmyra - nature’s perennial gift in the face of climate crisis P. Veilmuthu

f the outer portion is hard, then take it as grass; if the inner core is hard, then “Iit must be a tree.” This is a translation of a couple of lines from the ancient poetic Tamil work ‘Tholkappiam’ written and passed on in palm leaves. The purpose of starting this essay with the above lines of poetry from the Tholkappiam is to remind ourselves that our Tamil race which boasts of a 2500 year history of research and knowledge is today living a life of negligence and indifference towards nature. The Tamils had in the past distinguished themselves with their ability to categorize different varieties of plants, and passed on this recorded knowledge written on the leaves of Palmyra. Palm trees or Palmyra are one of the oldest and naturally occurring vegetations of Tamil Nadu. It can withstand drought and grow strong. The people adored this tree and called it ‘Karpakatharu’ (a wish tree). This is an imaginary tree which is mentioned in Hindu mythology. In the present times with drastic changes in climate, Traditionally, all parts of palm trees are used. However, now they are felled to make way for and many parts of Tamilnadu facing drought like housing layouts situations, it may not be an overstatement to label the Palmyra Palmyra trees are unique in providing us with food and non- tree a ‘Wish Tree’. food products, suitable for the typical climate prevalent in Tamil Though it is called the Palmyra tree, it is actually a grass Nadu. belongs to the family of the Borassus Flabellifera. India has the highest number of Palmyra (85.9 million) in the world and out The utilitarian aspects of Palmyra of this 60% are in Tamil Nadu (51 million). In 1978, the Palmyra The Palmyra offers its produce to the people throughout the was honoured as the geographical representation of the state of year. There isNeera (the sweet juice of its fruit), Toddy (obtained Tamil Nadu. It matures and starts yielding within 15 years if the by fermenting the sugary sap of the shoots), Nungu (a fruit land has water facility and within 25 years if it is dry arid land. It with a soft inner kernel holding sweet water which has cooling can grow up to 30mtrs in height and will last a 100 years! properties) panangaai, Palm fruit, palmyra root, thavun, jaggery Palmyra trees are being destroyed like never before. When all of which have healthy nutrients in them. fertile agricultural lands or sand dunes are being traded by land The leaves, husks, fibre, karukku, beam and pannadai can be sharks and real estate brokers, the majestically standing Palmyra used to make boxes, baskets, mats, brooms, ropes, fans, winnows, trees in these parcels of land are also sacrificed. We are witnessing and 20 other items which can be used by rural people for their the tragedy of the Palmyra trees being cut to be used as fuel for daily chores. A large variety of handicrafts can also be made not brick kilns. When we are facing heating of the earth and depletion only for personal use but also for the market. The Palmyra can of ground water resources, we must pay attention to one of our also be used for fencing, making thatched dwelling, roofs for hopes, bestowed by nature - the palm trees. houses and providing beams. When we compare the Palmyra with other trees grown in Palmyra trees are beneficial not only to human beings but also Tamil Nadu we will realise that there is no investment needed for to other living beings. Palmyra can be called the best friends of its growth, for irrigation, maintenance or for inputs like fertilisers Eagles, Vultures, Parrots, Peacocks, Northansparrow, Bats and and pesticides. However, the benefits we derive from them are the Baya Weaver birds. The peacocks sleep on the Palmyra in not less in any way to what we get from other trees. In addition, the nights and the parrots and the northanga sparrows lay and

25 hatch their eggs on these trees. Some of the nocturnal birds can bulwark, instead of planting and growing Palmyra! be seen resting on the Palmyra in between their hunting trips. Moreover, when hurricanes strike, the Palmyra trees block The beauty of the delicately braided nests created by the Baya their path and decelerate their speed, besides preventing sand Weavers hanging like festoons from the Palmyra is simply erosion. beyond description. When the Palmyra trees bear fruit (nungu), squirrels can be seen on them in large numbers. They feast on The economic benefits of Palmyra these fruits. Apart from affecting the lives of these creatures, the One Palmyra yields the following in one year: uprooting of Palmyra can lead to birds and other creatures being Neera (juice) 150 litres deprived of their domain of existence. Karuppatti (jaggery) 20-25 kgs Panankarkandu palm candy 16 kgs Palmyra for rainwater harvesting Most trees spread their roots horizontally. But the roots of Matured leaves 10 kgs Palmyra shoot straight downward vertically. Further, their Thumbu(coir) 11kgs tubular roots store water. This is one of the reasons why our Eeark 2.25 kgs forefathers, who were good at water management, made it a Naar (fibre) 16-20 kgs point to plant and nurture a lot of Palmyra around water bodies Viragu (firewood) 10 kgs like rivers, tanks and wells. Planting these trees help harvest and preserve rain water free of cost. Thus the Palmyra can be If all put together, the total income from a Palmyra will be described as a slightly long magic wand which in course of time Rs.2500 to Rs.3500. About 400 to 500 Palmyra trees can be converts an arid place into a water rich land. This beneficial grown in one acre of land. The total earning from an acre of characteristic of Palmyra needs to be understood in the context Palmyra will then be Rs.10 to Rs.17.5 lakhs a year. of extreme droughts and erratic rainfall and immediate measures As per the statistics collected in 1985-86, the Palmyra industry should be taken to its revival. was providing employment to 694,000 people all over India and 587,000 people in Tamil Nadu alone. This industry is The natural bulwark contributing to foreign exchange earnings worth 2 billion Indian Tamil Nadu has witnessed several natural calamities. The Rupees every year through export of palm products to countries ‘Thane’ cyclone that hit Tamil Nadu on 30th of December 2011 like the USA, Japan and Italy. It is worth making a note that one inflicted huge damages. A lot of the devastation on the coastal does not have to spend a single penny on their cultivation. areas of Cuddalore could have been prevented if the Palmyra had not been cut. The ban in toddy tapping In the 2004 tsunami, when trees and buildings were flattened Toddy is the juice that you get when the palm spathe is cut. to the ground, the Palmyra stood tall and strong. After the Toddy contains nutrients that are beneficial to our health. But in tsunami, the Tamil Nadu government erected a large number of Tamil Nadu, it is illegal to extract toddy. The toddy tappers claim the felled Palmyra as pillars on the coast so as to form a natural that toddy is a natural drink and hence its extraction is a basic

The benefits and disadvantages of palm gur and white sugar:

Palm Gur (karuppatti) Cane (white) Sugar Palmyra does not require much water. There are no crossbreeds Sugar cane sucks a lot of ground water and has hybrid variet- or hybrids in Palmyra. No fertilisers and pesticides needed. ies. Cane needs fertiliser and the crop has to be sprayed with pesticides. Most of the things required to produce the Palm Gur are You need a large land area to build the factory, machines, elec- obtained from Palmyra itself. No need for huge space or equip- tricity, large manpower, vehicles to haul the cane to the factory ments or manpower. and the fuel required for that and so on. There is no pollution during the production ofkaruppatti . No A lot of effluents get generated and discarded in the process toxic chemicals are added to the process. Both karuppatti and of producing white sugar. A number of harmful chemicals are Palm candy (panam karkandu) have vitamins and minerals in added during the processing. There is no nutritional value worth them. the mention. When we consume karuppatti, it does not affect our liver or the Fructose present in cane sugar can be digested only by the liver. hormone structure. By consuming sugar, it puts tremendous pressure on the liver which leads to fat accumulating in the liver affecting the excre- tion of insulin and results in diabetes. This is a totally a natural product. Sugar is a processed product. The trader in Palm Gur who makes profit from selling it would The Sugar business in the hands of big businessmen. They have be a local small time businessman and he would spend his earn- nothing to do with the economy of the village. The producers do ings in the village itself, helping the local economy. The Palm not get a fair share of the profit. gur obtained from 1 acre of Palmyra trees is equivalent to sugar made from cane cultivated in 8 to 10 acres.

26 right under the Indian view held by some that Constitution. “When this is a caste based neighbouring states like activity. Kerala and Andhra can Contribution of Palmyra allow extraction of toddy, to the Green Economy it is not fair to ban it in If we consume Palm Tamil Nadu”, says one of Gur or karuppatti in place the toddy tappers. of cane sugar, we will end up not only restricting Neera (Padaneer, Palm the pollution of water, Juice), an environment land and the atmosphere friendly beverage but also save on the Neera is a tasty drink. consumption of water. It cools the body. 100ml For instance chemical of this drink is saturated Sugar derived from nungu (palm fruit) is not only more healthy but more ecologically fertilisers and pesticides with solid compounds friendly as well are used in the cultivation like Sucrose (17.4%), Potassium (0.41%), Proteins (0.32%) and of sugarcane. These lead to degradation of the fertile land and Ascorbic Acid (0.030%). This drink has a lot of medicinal qualities pollution of water. Vehicles are used to cart the sugarcane from as per the Sidha medicine. the fields till the sugar factories. Transportation is a major Neera will be an environment friendly alternative drink to source of greenhouse gas emissions. After the cane reaches the beverages like Coke and Pepsi. In Tamil Nadu, neera extraction sugar factory, it undergoes a lot of processing with the help of happens between February and August. 25% of the juice is machinery and chemicals and takes the shape of the sugar that we consumed as drinks and the rest goes towards production of consume. Moreover, a lot of wastes and effluents are discharged jaggery or Palm Gur (karuppatti). from the sugar factories. Then again, the sugar so produced, is transported to the markets in trucks which will further increase Karuppatti (Palm Gur) the GHG emission. karuppattiis the most important product we get from the Palm Above all, sugarcane needs a lot of water to cultivate. When we Tree. The reason for the importance given to Palm Gur is, it is are facing severe water crisis this is an issue we should seriously proved that the cane sugar that we use in our daily food, in drinks consider. We should realise that behind every spoon of sugar, or in sweets is fraught with many harmful side effects both by its there are several litres of water being consumed/wasted. nature and in the process of its production from cane juice. In stark contrast, filtered Palmyra juice padaneer( ) is heated Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop. Besides, the production of (the wood required for heating is available from the palm tree) white sugar requires large quantity of sugarcane and exorbitant and once the padaneer reaches a colloidal state, it is poured into amount of money. The processing of sugarcane is energy intensive the moulds meant for this and allowed to solidify (without any and requires massive plants, not to mention the resultant tools). Once it is dried, it is ready for use. Later, it would be carried greenhouse gas emissions. to the nearby towns by cycle or by bus and sold. Most of the time, The healthy alternate sweetener which can be obtained without it gets sold in the village itself. harming the environment and without spending so much energy The contribution of Palmyra and related livelihoods is immense is this karuppatti which can he used as an alternate to cane sugar. in mitigating the impacts of climate change. However, certain measures are to be implemented in order to protect this industry. The sole livelihood of Channar community Awareness on the nutritional, economic and environmental Within the business community of Nadars who live in the benefits of Palmyra needs to be created from the school level. southern hinterlands of Tamil Nadu, there is a division named Policies have to be made to encourage people to plant more the Channars. They are an ethnic group who depend on the Palmyra trees. An increased awareness among the public will Palmyra trees for their livelihood. They are engaged in climbing definitely provide market for its produce. Financial support for the Palmyra trees, extracting the padaneer, boiling the juice for initiating small scale industries for value additions will improve karuppatti and selling of the Palmyra products. They depend on the local economy. these activities for a living. If the palms are destroyed, the first to The Palmyra trees, a means to protect water resources, a friend be affected will be this community. They do not know any other who helps the birds and animals, a plant that can bear a severe trade and are now living in a state of poverty. drought and one of the pillars of the village economy, can surely One of the many false ideological concepts resulting from be dependable in the face of climate change and the problems liberalisation of the economy is the lack of any respect for manual posed by it. labour and traditional industries. Due to this many youngsters in the present generation of the Channar community are shifting to other types of casual labour. One another reason is the despicable Veilmuthu can be contacted at [email protected]

27 People are increasingly migrating away from their traditional jobs of fishing Migrating fisherfolk in the face of looming catastrophe Sakthivel Murugan G here is migration taking place in large numbers from varied for the past ten years. Change in wind patterns can result from Arcattuthurai, a fishing hamlet in the Vedaranayam in boats capsizing in swells, or boats getting smashed on rocks Ttaluk of Nagapattinam. It is estimated that 40% of due to errors in sailing judgment. fishermen are leaving for countries like Singapore, Malaysia and “The wind direction and sea current keeps altering every now Middle East nations. This article looks into the reasons behind and then making it tough to predict its flow resulting in damage this migration. to the boats”, says Mr. Bhomidasan, member of the village Arcattuthurai village has a population of 3388. According to Panchayat. In the pursuit of sustaining their livelihoods, fisherfolk the statistics from the Tamil Nadu Fisheries Department 26% of cross maritime borders, get captured and face imprisonment in the population live on fishing. However, on visiting the village, foreign countries. Resolving these issues is often accompanied by one could see countless unattended catamarans, all under repair huge economic expenses incurred for their repatriation. along the entire coast of Arcattuthurai. The shore here is marshy “Change in wind pattern has resulted in fisherfolk keeping and it is difficult for the boats to be manually pulled and moored their boats inshore since there is a high chance of the boats on the shore. Hence, the fishermen leave the operational boats colliding with one another due to heavy winds when anchored at anchored 200-300 metres out at sea. On a normal day you could sea. There is lack of laborers to haul the boat onto the shore. This see the fishermen swimming ashore dejected as they were unable has led to anchoring the boats in other district docking centres, to get any catch. The fishermen’s wives could be seen waiting or selling of the boats”, says Mr. Mayilvahanan, President of the on the shore with breakfast and the fervent hope that their men Arcattuthurai fishing village Panchayat. would bring a rich harvest. Depletion of sea resources is another reason for the migration of There are many problems that beset this fishing community the fisherfolk. A report by the Food and Agriculture Organization such as change in the wind pattern, depletion of fish stocks, (FAO) states that climate change is one major reason for the increase in the sea surface temperature, etc. Understanding the depletion of marine fish stock. Mr. Ranjith, a fisherman from the wind patterns used to help fisherfolk to identify potential fishing village says: “There is depletion of fish resources in the sea for the zones and acquire the desired catch of fish. This traditional past ten years. The kind of catch we were getting near the shore wisdom is not of help anymore with the unpredictable change is no longer available and we are unable to pay even the wages in the wind pattern. The Central Marine Fisheries Research of people.” This has led the owners to depend on money lenders. Institute (CMFRI) report states that the wind patterns have The expenses eventually get way beyond their means and have

28 them sell their boats and look for alternate occupations like to identify the potential fishing zones. However, Governments manual labours, working in ship building yards overseas, etc. at Central and State level should take appropriate steps to make According to a report by the Centre for Marine Fisheries sure that the technologies are available to these fishermen. Or Research Institute (CMFRI) the Indian mackerel fish has else, small scale fishing as a profession will fade into history and migrated to deep sea due to the increase in warming of the sub remain as a memory to be watched on the visual media. surface water temperature. Earlier, fishermen used to catch many different varieties of fishes including Salmon, Pomfret, Whip- References tail stingray and shrimps. But now, even though they sail much 1. Smith, M.E., Fisheries Risk in the Modern Context. farther into the sea and fish for a long time, they get only a few International Journal of Maritime Studies. 1, 29-48. 1988. varieties. Fish varieties like White Fish and Hilsa which taste the 2. FAO, Fisheries and Aquaculture topics: Risks of best are not to be found. “Due to depletion of fish in the known fishing and Topics Fact Sheets. Text by Jeremy Turner. In: FAO areas many fishermen have to sail far to get a reasonable catch Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [online]. Rome. Updated which increases their expenditure”, says Mr. Parthiban, member 2 May 2012. http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/12383/en, 2005- of the Arcattuthurai Panchayat. 2013. Depletion of fish varieties, decrease in the catch and varying 3. Tamil Nadu Government, Fisheries Department, market conditions have all led to lowered wage for the workers. Survey, 2011. Consequently, most of the workers had quit and travelled abroad 4. Sathiadhas, R., Sangeetha K.P., Employment Scenario for work. Due to lack of labourers the owners suffer the most so and Labour Migration in Marine fisheries, Asian Fisheries much so that they have had to sell their boats. Science 22 (2009): pp. 713-727. Mr. Sathish Das of the Centre for Marine Fisheries Research 5. CMFRI, (2008), Research Highlights 2007-2008, The Institute (CMFRI) states that those who migrate to other Centre for Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Cochin, India, countries in search of employment opportunities find it difficult pp.36. to cope with the weather, and as a result their heath degrades. The recruitment agencies simply exploit them. They often keep their passports, retain their money and don’t even pay their Sakthivel can be contacted at [email protected] salaries. There are other challenges like learning a foreign language, and ignorance of the laws and regulations of the new country. In the face of these difficulties sometimes they find it difficult to terminate their employment and return to their native countries. Mr. Inba Sekaran, a fisherman explains that “I went to Malaysia and worked as a waiter in a restaurant. I worked for a year and a half but was forced to return due to severe health issues. Now my son is working there in a construction company. He is not getting his salary on time and we are sending him money from here to support him. There has been hardly any improvement in our lot for the past 10 years. We still continue to live in a tiled roof house and we do not even have a toilet facility.” Maritime fishing is probably the most dangerous occupation in the world. Data from coastal countries that collect accurate accounts show that occupational fatalities in their fishing industries far exceed their national average. Now, as a result of migration, the entire profession of fishing has been disturbed at the community level. The only measure of adaptation is the usage of highly equipped technological devices like GPS, Eco Sounder, Walkie - Talkie and mobile applications. Fishermen have been forced to adapt to changing conditions by using technology to trace fish These tools help fisherman to reduce risks and

29 Migratory birds driven to the brink with mindless destruction of their habitat Shanmuganantham E

Introduction the water resources. In the absence of water resources, the lives of Living organisms in this world are sustained by five elements these aquatic birds will be endangered. Coastal birds and sea birds of nature namely earth, water, air, sky and fire. It is estimated are also categorized as aquatic birds. that life on earth originated around 500 million years ago. The When the birds migrate they feed on the worms and insects that fish that we enjoy and eat originated about 400 million years ago, are in excess, thereby helping control their menace. Their excreta the reptiles about 250 million years ago and the mammals about form natural manure. Of the birds migrating to Tamil Nadu, we 200 million years ago, and all these have evolved since then to its can count about 30 varieties out of 200 coastal birds found in the present manifested state. world, around 40 or more of the types found on the land (these The Earth, which is in a constant state of flux, has in our include hunting birds and those that eat small insects for food), contemporary world seen the emergence of icebergs in one part and around 80 varieties of birds migrate that are seen in the poles. of the world while in another an increase in temperature. Under The birds-of-prey such as Eagles, Hawks, Buzzards and Falcons these circumstances, birds inhabiting the colder parts of the world have large wide wings and they migrate during the warm daytime. migrate to warmer climates to protect themselves from the cold as This is because the warm wind gives them the required energy, well as in search of food. This phenomenon has been happening making it easier for them to soar. for millions of years, even before humans came into existence. The Bush Sparrows, Chipping Sparrows and Flycatchers that This article looks at the normal migration pattern of the feed on small insects migrate during the nights in order to avoid migratory birds in Tamil Nadu and the recent challenges excess heat and predators. Certain changes take place in the birds encountered by them in finding a suitable habitat. before migration starts. New feathers grow on their heads and colour of their plumes changes. At this stage the changes could be Migration so drastic that a person observing these birds could even mistake Martin Doocane describes migration as the moving of birds it for some other species. in winter for food and returning back. India’s well-known Ornithologist, Salim Ali, likens migration to the pendulum in a Migration distance clock; birds going to one place and returning back to where they Most of the migratory birds use the Central Asian Flyway started. Birds migrate in response to an inner stimulation as well (CAF), comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, Iraq, Kuwait, India, as an instinctive cognition they have acquired over the ages. Kirghizstan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Qatar and This process has been described by a Russian Naturalist, Mr. Yemen, to reach Tamil Nadu. This Central Asian Flyway is the Mantaibel. shortest flyway in the world. In this route, many birds stop at the Besides birds, many mammals, butterflies, fish and other 300 or so water bodies. creatures also migrate. However, the process of migration, and The migratory birds travelling on the east of the Central Asian several factors that contribute to it, has not been fully comprehended by human beings.

Migratory Birds It has been discovered that out of some 10,000 species of birds found around the world, about 1800 migrate. In India, 300 out of 1330 species of birds migrate and in Tamil Nadu 90 out of the 400 odd species of birds, migrate each year. These birds, while adding beauty to our land and water bodies, also play an important role in our environment. The lives of aquatic birds which are observed and found around water bodies are intermingled with Thousands of flamingoes flock to different parts of India every year to breed

30 Flyway stopover at 20 reservoirs and sanctuaries during their Climate Change and Migratory Birds journey in India, starting from the Bhitarkanika National Park From the day the Universe came into our perceptible in Odisha, till Kanyakumari, on the southern tip of coastal Tamil understanding climate change on earth has occurred several times Nadu. due to natural processes. But the rise in the temperature, erratic The migratory birds fly record distances, ranging from 500 to weather patterns, ocean acidification, raising sea levels, etc. which 17,000 kilometres. In a recorded achievement of sorts, the Arctic is creating havoc in the environment and on the lives of people is Tern, a seabird, after breeding in the Arctic flew 17,000 Kms to not part of this natural process. There are enough evidences now the Antartica. to prove that these changes in the climate are human induced. According to studies done, Greater Shearwater flies from North Factories, thermal power plants, various household and Atlantic to South Atlantic covering a distance of 12,800 Kms industrial appliances like refrigerators, transportation, modern and the Blue-tailed Geese cross a distance of 1720 Kms in just agriculture, etc. pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere 60 hours. Studies also show which results in the warming that coastal birds like Dunlin of the earth. In 1950, the and Western Sandpiper average surface temperature breed in the Arctic region on earth was 13.8˚C. In 1997, travel long distances to reach it increased to 14.6˚C. Though warmer places. Scientists this quantum of 0.8˚C might have discovered that birds appear small, it can cause like Semipalmated Sandpiper serious consequences. Studies also leave their usual habitat have warned that the average and fly long distances while temperature might increase migrating for food. by a maximum of 4˚C above It has been found that a that which existed before the bird species in Alaska, USA, Industrial Revolution and that the Alaska bar-tailed Godwit even when the increase is 1 to The Grey Heron is another bird that migrates great distances (Limosa lappomica boueri) 2 degrees, the world will have flies nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand some 11,000 Kms to face severe consequences. (7242 miles) away! Scientists have also discovered that Northern There is a possibility that by 2050, many life forms living in Water, a seabird, crosses 30,000Kms after making a few stops en the sea would become extinct. It is not just the Polar Bear, Coral route. Reefs and the Rainforests that are under threat because of climate While migrating, birds like the Black Guillemat, a species of change; the migratory birds will also bear the brunt of climate Eagle or Sea Crow, look for suitable temperature for breeding en change. route after which they carry on northward. Manx Shearwater, a Ornithologists caution that if the current temperatures go up by sea bird, ends up travelling a whopping 8 million Kms (5 million even 2 degrees, 38% of the birds in Europe and 72% of the birds in miles) during its 50 year lifespan! North Eastern Australia will be in danger of extinction. The White Storks that visit Tamil Nadu in small numbers Tamil Nadu has gradually started facing the effects of climate migrate from Europe crossing a distance of 5000 Kms. change. Currently, the South West monsoon brings average rainfall of 338.2mm of rains to Tamil Nadu, during the months Flying speeds of October and November. Reports indicate that this will reduce It has been found that the small chirping birds fly at around by 9% in the next 30 years, 15% between the years 2040 and 2070 32 to 64 Kms per hour, storks at 40 to 60 kms per hour, ducks and by a whopping 24% between 2070 and 2100. The likely loss fly at 77 to 96 Kms and the sandpipers at 90 kms per hour. Some of rainfall during the next 30 years will be 8% in Kancheepuram ornithologists have observed seabirds like Red Knott and Dunlins district, 7% each in the districts of Nagapattinam, Vizhuppuram flying at just 5Kms per hour. and Virudunagar. These reports also point out that Tiruvallur, Ariyaur and Tanjvur districts will face deficit of 6% in the average Flying height rainfall they receive. Analysts have found out that birds like the Northern Pintail and A study by the Centre for Climate Change and Adaptation Black-tailed Godwit can fly at an average height of about 5,000 Research of the Anna University has indicated that the average metres (16,400 feet), up to the Khomba Glacier peak, which is at temperature in Chennai will increase by 1˚C in the next 30 years a height of 7,600 metres (24,900 feet), in the Everest mountain and by 3.1˚C in the years 2070 to 2100. Similar changes can be range in Nepal. observed in the other districts of the state as well, as per this The Bark-headed Geese fly at a height of 6540 metres over the report. Mt. Everest and overcome several obstacles to reach Tamil Nadu. 13 coastal districts of Tamil Nadu would be adversely affected Most migratory birds fly at a minimum height of 150 to 600 by climate change. Biodiverse regions such as Pazhaverkadu, metres (500 to 2000 feet). Kodikkarai, Mutthupet, Pichavaram, the Gulf of Mannar

31 Biosphere Reserve, Pallikkaranai, Karikkili, the Vedanthangal Kodikkarai Bird Sanctuary and the Guindy National Park would face severe More than 270 different species of birds have been found loss of biodiversity. This will have severe effects on the migratory to arrive at the Kodikkarai Bird and Animal Sanctuary. The birds. vast expanses of green, the marshlands of Muthupet and Adiramapattinam, mangroves and the Great Vedaranyam Swamp Pazhaverkadu and salt pans; all these form part of the remarkable diversity of Pazhaverkadu has been described glowingly as a harbour, Kodikkarai. “Thirupalaivanam” in the ancient Sangam literature. Today it has The evidence of the loss of biodiversity is clearly witnessed here. attained an international reputation as a bird sanctuary. The water In the 1990’s, there were more than a million birds gathered here. of three rivers, Swarnamukhi, Kaalngi and Arani has enriched Due to the pollution caused by the effluents from the factories, the Pazhaverkadu. It is the second largest lagoon in India with a creatures living in the sea, micro organisms, iruvazhvigal, snails, diverse geology that includes fresh water lagoons, small puddles, crabs and fishes have been brought to the brink of extinction. mud flats and farmlands. Food availability for migratory birds Continuous troubles like loss of habitat and lack of food have here is high and includes snails, crabs, and amphibians. led to the reduction of coastal birds migrating to Kodikkarai. In the adjacent Arambakkam, which has large expanses of mud Migratory birds like Crab plover, Eurasian Oystcscatcher have not flats, waders like the Common Sandpipers, Plovers and Ruddy been recorded here since 1992. Turnstone can be seen in large numbers. In Annamalaichery, birds like Sea Eagles, Sea Hawks, Osprey Migratory Reducing numbers of migratory birds and Geese can be spotted. birds found in 1980s 1990s Between 2000-08 Kodikkarai The Flamingos reach Pazhaverkadu after breeding in the Rann Curlew 150000 80000 25000 of Kutch (Gujarat) and in Chilka (Odisha). Flocks of them can be Sandpipers seen flying across the sky like a magic carpet in pink and red. The Little Stint 200000 100000 30000 Blue-green Algae and the shrimps which the flamingos feed on Lesser Sand 100000 75000 40000 are abundantly available here. Plovers The Whimbrel and Eurasian Curlew also reach Pazhaverkadu Ruff 100000 30000 10000 after breeding in the North Pole, traversing 4000Kms. They feed Black tailed God- 50000 40000 15000 on the mud crab which is popularly known as the Pazhaverkadu wits crab. Coastal birds like the Caspian Tern come to Pazhaverkadu in Black-winged Stilt 15000 3000 1000 large numbers as the waters here have a large population of fish. Pied Avocets 7000 500 100 The drastic reduction of the numbers of the birds coming here, (Konamukku from the 3 millions, which used to flock here until about 30 years Ullan) ago, is a clear sign that the biodiversity of this place has been seriously affected. Kodikkarai and the surrounding Muthupet and The pollution caused by the effluents discharged from the more Adhiramapattinam mangroves which used to host 1 million than 30 shrimp export firms, private ship building yards, thermal migratory birds had to do with just 600,000 birds in the 1990s. power stations and other private industrial units has resulted in This figure further fell to 250,000 birds by the year 2000. As a serious damages to marine organisms. And we have to bear in small consolation, in 2011-2012 this count had gone up to mind that these marine organisms form the first level in the food 450,000. The rampant pollution in and around Kodikkarai has chain and are an important part of the diet of migratory birds. resulted in a 70% drop in the number of migratory birds arriving Studies are pointing out that the Pazhaverkadu lake which here. was spread over an area of 450 Square metres has shrunk to 350 Square metres because of constant sedimentation. The last bird The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve census clearly establishes a drop in the arrival of migratory birds in The Coral Reefs, which are known as the rainforests of the sea the region. The number has decreased from 300,000 in the 1980s also play a very important ecological role. It is said that a country’s to 200,000 in the 1990s. In 2011-2012, this number dropped marine wealth is calculated by the amount of coral reefs it has. further to just around 150,000 birds. It is obvious that the basic The Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve stretches from reason for this 50% drop is the rise of profit oriented industries. Rameswaram till Tuticorin covering a total area of 560 Square km. What the future has in store for these birds is uncertain. There are 21 islands in the area, ranging from 0.25 hectare to 125 The number of flamingos migrating to Pazhaverkadu has hectares. Of these there are 4 islands in Tuticorin, 3 in Vembar, 7 drastically dropped to just 8,000 in the 1990s from 30000 in in the Kizhakkarai and 7 in the Mandapam. the 1980s. This has further come down to 3000 and 1500 in More than 3000 rare marine species can be found in the Gulf 2000 and 2008 respectively. If this trend goes on like this, will of Mannar Biosphere reserve. The Coral reefs that occupy these Pazhaverkadu, the beautiful landscape which is a heaven like coasts stand testimony to the country’s marine wealth. Rare abode to these migratory birds, be able to stand up to the might of species like the 104 varieties of Coral, 147 types of Marine Algae, industrial development? Ocean Grass, Sea Conch Shells, sea turtles, sea horses and marine

32 leaches inhabit these areas. Larger mammals like the Dugong and We can only conclude that the huge drop in the number of Dolphins are also seen in abundance here. migratory birds arriving to the seashores of Tamil Nadu is a direct Realising the importance of the Gulf of Mannar, the consequence of environmental pollution. Government of Tamil Nadu awarded protection to this region in 1986 by declaring it a Marine National Park. In 1989 under the Kazhiveli/ Pallikaranai UNESCO Man and Biosphere program, the Central Government Kazhiveli is a large wetland in the Marakkanam area of further increased the protection given to the region by declaring Puduchery. It is a biodiverse region that supports large number of the Gulf of Mannar as a Biosphere Reserve, making it the first aquatic birds, birds of prey and resident birds. coastal Biosphere Reserve to be set up in South East Asia. The significance of Kazhiveli has so far not been recognized. Today the coral reefs are being subject to what is called the More than 50,000 birds used to visit these wetlands in the 1980s. ‘Bleaching disease’, which is threatening its extinction. The But garbage dumping, change of land use pattern, indiscriminate Gulf of Mannar has seen an increase of 0.1 to 0.9 degree in the felling of trees, effluents draining form private industrial units, temperature in the last century. Zooxenthcllae, a microscopic etc. have degraded Kazhiveli. This is reflected in the arrival of alga that live within coral polyps providing nutrition have started migratory birds which had shrunk to 35,000 by 1990s and hardly to disappear with the increase in temperatures and resultant 15,000 during 2011-2012. acidification of the ocean. If the current development activities In the same manner, the water bodies of Danushkodi used to be continue the revival of coral reefs will be close to impossible. hosting more than 14,000 Flamingos in the 1980s. This number When the volume of Coral Reefs reduces the waves gain exactly halved by 1990s and reduced further to 3000 to 5500 momentum, increasing coastal erosions and making the damages during 2000-2008. due to cyclones and hurricanes more severe. In the case of the water bodies in Kanyakumari, the Coastal and The sea levels in these regions have been increasing at the Aquatic birds which used to be as high as 25,000 in numbers in average rate of 1.8mm each year. Two islands Poovarasnpatti the 1980s surprisingly increased their count to 30,000 in the year near Kizhakkarai and Vilanguchallitheevu near Tuticorin were 2000. But even this figure has started falling from 2011-2012. submerged. The 21 islands in the Gulf of Mannar are also under the threat of being submerged. Conclusion The Coral Reefs can be likened to the rainforests. They support Our culture proudly claimed that we do not sell food and a plethora of marine life. The destruction of the coral reefs will water. Today we are selling both food and water. Our forefathers lead to the destruction of many other marine creatures that provided free water booths, not only for the people, but for the make the reefs their home. This in turn will affect the arrival of animals as well; special provisions were made for stray cattle and migratory birds. We are able to discern this from the bird census birds by building stone pits for feed and water. We really have to conducted in recent years. While more that 75,000 birds made the ask ourselves, are we their true descendants? Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve their home around 30 years All the habitats of the migratory birds in Tamil Nadu like the back, the number dropped to 50,000 in the last decade. We have coastal zones, bird sanctuaries, marsh lands, wetlands, mangroves, not been able to stop the tragedy happening in Pazhaverkadua river mouths and estuaries have been polluted. Emergence of and Kodikkarai from being repeated in the Mannar Biosphere large metropolitan cities, environmental pollution, pollution of Reserve. water bodies, oil spills, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, looting of mineral rich beach sands and river sands, etc. have Migratory birds Reducing numbers of migratory birds adversely affected these habitats. found in the Gulf 1985-88 2005-2009 Ornithologists fear that the use of pesticides which results of Mannar in thin egg shells may not support the incubating bird and will Curlew Sandpipers 10000 3000 drastically bring down the number of successful hatchlings. Little Stint 8000 1000 The time has come to protect our natural resources not only Lesser Sand 13000 2500 towards preserving the habitats for migratory birds, but also for Plovers protecting the lives of the most vulnerable societies who are in no Crab plovers 900 20 way responsible for climate change. Eurasian Curlew 450 55 Grey Clover 970 100 Acknowledgements Great Knut 350 200 Shri Nakkeeran, Author on Environment Red Knut 300 50 Shri Arun Nendunchezhiyan, Author on Green Marxism Shri P.Arunkumar Author on Environment and Research Student In a slight departure from this trend, the Common Greenshanks Shri Veyyil Poet of which only 250 birds had been noticed in 1985-88, inexplicably went up to 3500 in 1997 (a separate study is required to find out the reason for this increase). But the figure has shown a sudden Shanmuganantham can be contacted at shanmugam.wildlife@ drop to just 50 birds during 2005-2009. gmail.com

33 Climate justice - What does it mean for coastal communities? Oamjie John

wide range of research studies by different international liberal, corporate-based economy which stops us from achieving organizations and agencies prove beyond doubt that sustainable societies. It is the understanding that corporate Aunrestrained human activities such as burning of fossil globalization must be stopped.”1 fuels, increased use of refrigerants and modern agricultural The first Climate Justice Summit that took place in The Hague, activities has caused climate to change to its present form. They the Netherlands, in 2000, parallel to the Sixth Conference of the further predict with high degree of certainty that climate change Parties (COP 6) to the United Nations Framework Convention will have unprecedented impact on almost all species, ecosystems on Climate Change (UNFCCC) stated, “We affirm that climate and landscapes. However, predictions as to how climate change change is a rights issue. It affects our livelihoods, our health, our will be manifested in a particular location, species or community children and our natural resources. We will build alliances across remain inconclusive due to the complexity of ecosystems, and the states and borders to oppose climate change inducing patterns and varied levels of dependence on them by different species. Only an advocate for and practice sustainable development.”2 ecosystem and species wise participatory methods of research and These definitions provide clarity on the orientation needed action can bridge this gap and address the larger issue of climate from which proactive initiatives should stride out. justice. An overview of climate change scenario Climate Justice defined Globally, climate change and climate variability have become The parameters used to define climate justice are varied. a reality. Researchers project that climate change could cost the It starts from a pure ecological focus to a wider framework of global economy almost $7 trillion by 2050, equivalent to a 20% socio-economic situations of a particular geographical setting or fall in growth if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas community, sustainable development and gender justice. emissions. According to Global Justice Ecology, “The heart of climate justice The climate change scenario in India is not going to be different is the understanding that the urgent action needed to prevent from the rest of the world. The temperature in India is likely to climate change must be based on community-led solutions, increase by 3-4°C towards the end of the century. In the case of taking into consideration the well-being of local communities, rainfall, a marginal increase of 7 to 10 per cent in annual rainfall indigenous peoples, the global poor, as well as biodiversity and is projected over the sub continent by the year 2080. The date intact ecosystems. Climate justice is the understanding that we of onset of monsoon over India could become more variable in will not be able to stop climate change if we don’t change the neo- future.3

Fishermens opinions about the effect of climate change on their catch vary. While some believe climate change could be a factor, others disagree

34 Lack of scientific studies in Kerala will be the major impediment strategies to combat the impacts thus should take into account the to assess the actual impact of climate change and climate variability. voices of these categories of people, which unfortunately is not a The data from the State Meteorological Department shows that practice in most cases. Kerala does not even have a scientific policy rainfall pattern in recent years have exhibited uncertainties. The document on climate change which is context specific. years 2002 (37.7% deficit) and 2004 (36.7 % deficit) were declared “There are visible changes in the climate over the past 25 years. as the monsoon deficit years in Kerala during which surface water In earlier times elders in the community used to accurately predict sources dried up and led to a hydrological drought during summer. the changes in weather, watching stars and other changes in the According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), during the sky and warned others in the field. Climatic changes were then last 43 years, the mean maximum temperature over Kerala has consistent and predictable. This situation has changed over the risen by 0.8°C, the minimum by 0.2°C and the average by 0.5°C.4 years”, says Ganesan, 56, from Koilandy, a coastal village situated adjacent to Calicut city in Kerala, who has been a fish worker from Existing studies on climate change and coastal communities the age of nine. The impact of climate change will be severe on the coastal Along with other two fish workers -Valson and Murugan- communities even though they are unaware of the calamity facing from the same village, he holds the view that climatic changes do them. Except a few pilot endeavors, there has been little study not play any role in the depletion of fishery resources; increased about the communities’ perception of climate change and their fishing activities involving large number of persons and vessels experiences and knowledge systems of coping mechanisms. is the major reason for resource depletion. Compared to the Sumana Narayan, in her monograph on Climate Change fishing practices of olden days, when groups of 18 to 20 people and Fisheries observes: “The study conducted in 2011 by the went fishing in smaller boats, he said, today it has gone up to 60 International Collective in Support of Fish workers (ICSF)5 or more persons using mechanised trawling boats and nets so that assessed the perceptions of fishing communities about the impact they can enhance the quantity of the catch. of climate variability/change on their lives and livelihoods. The He observed that pollution of the sea due to industrial study assessed the knowledge, institutions and practices of waste disposal and wastes from ships including toxic chemical fishing communities of relevance to climate-change preparedness, compounds, construction of ports and harbors and consequent identifying adaptation and mitigation measures that may need to destruction of the coast have also resulted in resource depletion be adopted by fishing communities and the State in relation to and migration of fishes. climate change and proposed measures to protect the lives and 77 year old Sreedharan, another fish worker from the village, livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities in the context of also referred to climatic changes in the sea and the coast for the climate-change policies and programmes at different levels. This past two decades as a passing phenomenon which the people in study was conducted across four states in India – two on each the community do not take seriously. coast. The study held consultations with key fisheries-based Heavy rain, storms and coastal erosion are common events stakeholders in selected locations in Maharashtra and Kerala which people used to overcome with their common wisdom on the west coast, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal on the east and traditional systems. In his opinion, the major reason for coast.”6 depletion of fish is the increased overnight fishing activities. In The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) has earlier days, fishing activities commenced at dawn and wound taken up a major ICAR Network Project entitled ‘Vulnerability of up by evening before sunset. Large scale overnight fishing is the Indian Marine Fisheries to Climate Change’. “Preliminary results practice of today. He said that even lighting up a match stick is from this project indicate that the distribution of fish species with sensed by fishes and they at once escape foreseeing the danger. He more rapid turnover of generations may show the most rapid does not conclusively think that climatic changes have resulted in demographic responses to temperature changes. The distribution depletion of fishes. of the oil sardine ‘Sardinella longiceps’ for instance has responded Valsan puts it in a different way. He thinks there is a notable markedly to increase in sea temperature. With the northern change in climate, both in the sea and the coast, over the past few latitudes becoming warmer, the oil sardine, which is essentially decades. Rise in temperature at sea might have caused migration a tropical species, is able to establish itself in the new territories of fish to other areas or deep into the sea. and contribute to the fisheries along the northwest and northeast Toxic chemical waste disposed affects the ecology of the deep coasts of India.”7 sea resulting in destruction of fish and other organisms. Although Authentic scientific studies have to be conducted in order to there is considerable drop in fishery resources, it has not drastically develop measures that can help the coastal communities to adapt affected the coastal economy due to the increase in price of sea to the changing climate. products. The in-house project of CMFRI on “Impact of Anthropogenic The perception of coastal communities Activities on Coastal Marine Environment and Fisheries”, The direct victims of the impacts of climate change are primarily initiated in 2007, also underlines the impact of urban domestic those who are living in the peripheries and the less privileged; sewage, industrial effluent discharge, dredging, port activities, farmers, coastal communities, slum dwellers, adivasis, dalits, oil spills, ship breaking, degradation of sensitive and threatened and women and children from these communities. Any plan or marine habitats, plastic materials and ghost fishing on marine

35 environment and coastal fisheries. that should have a well formulated policy back up. Unfortunately, Coastal marine ecosystems all over the world are under Kerala does not show the political will to address this situation. unrelenting stress caused by anthropogenic activities such as urban development, dumping of hazardous or toxic substances, Lack of access to information and dissemination habitat destruction and coastal aquaculture.8 The routine weather forecast by the meteorological department CMFRI study in 2007 on “Impact and yield study of climate on a daily basis is the only available source of information on change on the small pelagic fishes” portrays a different picture climate variations for the common people in India. It can be about the migration of pelagic fishes. It corroborates that accessed through news papers, radio or television. However, these climate changes have altered the production and distribution of forecasts are notorious for its inaccuracy and fallacy. some commercially important pelagic fishes in Indian waters. Communicating climate change is complex. What we read or Historically, the distribution of sardines and mackerels were hear about climate change is yet to be lent scientific authenticity. restricted to the Malabar upwelling system along the southwest Climate scientists talk in “ifs and buts” because they have not coast (8o – 16o N latitude) of India. However, a clear cut unequivocally linked many of the effects of climate change with distribution shifts in these two species were observed from 1989. their presumed causes. The Oil sardine emerged as a major species along the southeast Some media analysts say the slim coverage of climate issues by coast of India, while mackerel fishery emerged along the northwest India’s local-language press is due to commercial decisions and coast. Like many other tropical pelagic fishes, Indian mackerel a shortage of trained science journalists than a lack of interest and Indian oil sardine have shown population crashes and sudden among readers and viewers. recoveries. The study plunges into investigations on the role of The fish workers say that some information on weather and ocean-atmosphere variables responsible for the habitat shifting/ climatic variations are provided by the fisheries office through switching of small pelagic such as oil sardine and mackerel.9 its notice boards. But all these are in the form of precautions or warnings on a day-to-day basis with no scientific or technical The gap between traditional and scientific knowledge information. Internationally, an array of scientific studies put forth credible Regular awareness campaign or training programmes to equip arguments that climate change impacts the sea, fisheries and the coastal communities in mitigation and adaptation hardly the coast manifested through rise in sea surface temperature, takes place. Denying proper access to information and its effective rise of sea level, increased salinity of sea water, migration of fish dissemination is definitely a question of justice; and in this case, resources, increase in heavy storms, coastal flooding and coastal climate justice. erosion. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Post-disaster development scenario in the ‘Summary for Policymakers’ provides overwhelming Naomi Klein, in her compelling study on disaster capitalism, evidence of the scale of these impacts. “Marine organisms will face ‘The Shock Doctrine’ narrates a bizarre landscape of post- Katrina progressively lower oxygen levels and high rates and magnitudes New Orleans and post-tsunami south Asia. “I travelled to Sri of ocean acidification (high confidence), with associated risks Lanka several months after the devastating 2004 tsunami and exacerbated by rising ocean temperature extremes (medium witnessed foreign investors and international lenders teamed up confidence). and using the atmosphere of panic, to hand the entire beautiful Coral reefs and polar ecosystems are highly vulnerable. Coastal coast line over to entrepreneurs. They quickly built large resorts, systems and low-lying areas are at risk from sea-level rise, which blocking hundreds of thousands of fishing people from rebuilding will continue for centuries even if the global mean temperature is their villages near the water”.11 stabilised (high confidence). Fish and other marine animals will Post-disaster development is a treasure hunt for big players but shift their ranges, causing invasions of high-latitude seas by low a thunderbolt on coastal communities in which large areas of land latitude species and local extinctions of marine animals in the are purchased at low cost by creating a fear psychosis of another tropics. impending disaster. This poses the risk of reduced supplies of fish with consequences Arthungal, situated 30 km north of Alappuzha in Kerala, for incomes and employment. Ocean acidification also poses presents the plight of a coastal community being denied access substantial risks to marine ecosystems, particularly at the poles to their working environment. Alappuzha, a dream holiday and at coral reefs.”10 destination with its coconut grove-fringed lakes, canals backwaters Obviously there exists a wide gap between perceptions that and long sandy beaches, has been earmarked for tourism can cause confusion and anomaly in understanding the problem, development. Visitors cruise the backwaters on houseboats and planning process and implementation of projects. The impact enjoy the laid-back lifestyle. While many local people benefited of climate change on fisheries, like its impact on agriculture and from the tourism boom, the negative impacts – including other sectors, is hard to isolate considering the possible other violations of human rights – are strongly felt in Arthungal. factors influencing fisheries. Bridging this gap is a herculean task. The Kerala Independent Fishermen’s Federation has been Responsibility to initiate urgent and serious studies in this field lies instrumental in preventing or modifying several tourism projects with the scientific community supported by a government system in Arthungal over the past few years. “The Federation organised

36 protests against several proposed tourism plans that went against environmental consequences would be devastating. the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification [A country-wide regulation aimed at preserving fragile coastal land by preventing The policy gap non-essential construction close to the shore.]. In 2010, a peaceful The Government of Kerala boasts that it has been working on campaign was organised to take down a sea wall that had been a strategy for action in the state in response to climate change. built violating all regulations. Many women stood in front of The draft action plan says; “It is proposed to identify specific the wall until the police and the press came; the event made so vulnerabilities and plan appropriate responses keeping those in much noise that the destruction of the wall was ordered”, says focus. As the foremost impact of the changing climatic pattern Jackson Pollayil, Secretary of the Kerala Independent Fishermen’s relates to land and water resources, a system for monitoring it Federation. Amazing photographs were published in the news will be the first imperative. Further, the information at global papers with fishermen’s wives, daughters and mothers lining up, as well as local level would need to be analyzed for any strategy. hand in hand, standing proud in front of a wall that barred them This will essentially include assessment of efficacy of the present from the beach. development strategies and probable mid course corrections A current on-going fight is against a new tourism resort which wherever found necessary. The principles adopted for the National claims 1 square kilometer of the beautiful Arthungal beach. The Action Plan for Climate Change include achieving a sustainable resort was due to open in 2012, catering to elite travelers. When development path while advancing economic and environmental construction began in 2009, barbed wire was immediately erected objectives.”12 around the resort’s perimeter, cutting off access to parts of the Great words are used but how much of this rhetoric is being beach, some side roads, and most importantly the local church. put in to action is the fundamental question. Efforts are not being The church – a small chapel really – is one of Arthungal’s oldest made to collect even basic data such as GHG emission in the state. buildings and has welcomed worshippers for over 100 years. Now, The gap existing between the bureaucracy and local communities access to the chapel was no longer possible. When local residents is the root cause for inaction and injustice. found out that they could not reach their church, they took the matter to the Fishermen Federation. “The local Panchayat had References already authorised the construction. Tourism was more important 1 http://globaljusticeecology.org/climate-justice/ to them than fishing, accessing wells or going to church. They saw 2 Climate Institute, ‘Climate Justice Movements’ http://www. only tourism taxes”, explains Sarath, a local community leader. climate.org/climatelab/Climate_Justice_Movements The reaction was quick: one morning, 200 fisher people 3 Garg et al., 2001; IPCC, 2001; Krupa, 2003; Aggarwal, assembled in front of the wall blocking the road to the church 2003; Rao, 2011, quoted in Gopakumar C.S, Impacts of Climate and physically took it down. The resort responded by suing the variability on Agriculture in Kerala, Cochin University of Science protesters. The Federation collected small donations from the and Technology, October 2011 fishermen in order to carry out the legal fight. The case is still 4 Gopakumar C.S, Impacts of Climate variability on Agriculture pending but the Alleppey court did order the resort to ensure the in Kerala, Cochin University of Science and Technology, October maintenance of water wells which now fell under its property and 2011 to keep open access to the church. 5 www.indiawaterportal.org/sites/indiawaterportal.org/files/ “It’s only a half-victory” cautions Jackson. “Even after almost climate... • PDF file a year, nobody comes to verify whether the court’s orders are 6 Sumana, Climate change and Fisheries, Pipal Tree, Bangalore, followed. Our wells are not being maintained.” He showed a 2013 couple of water pumps, one uselessly lying on the floor, the other 7 E. Vivekanandan, CMFRI Newsletter 112: Oct-Dec 2006; dripping uncontrollably. “While they kept opened the road to the http://203.200.148.2/cdhome/Newsletter/Number_112_2006 church, they closed three other paths to private homes. Now the 8 Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on Coastal Marine owners have to cross their neighbors’ garden to access their door.” Environment and Fisheries, study initiated by CMFRI, 2007 The case of Arthungal is not unique. There are a lot of 9 Impact and yield study of climate change on the small pelagic communities with similar issues. Fisher people, resort owners, fishes, study initiated by CMFRI, 2007 intensive agriculture industries or even power plants are all 10 http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/syr/SYR_ competing for access to the beach. AR5_SPM.pdf They all seek to claim precious acres of sea shore, but some 11 Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine, Penguin Books, 2007 wield more lobbying power than others. In a country where 12 Response to Climate Change: Strategy and Action, corruption is high, fishing communities tend to lose. Kerala State Action Plan on Climate Change, Department of In essence, the government is making a choice: to turn its back Environment and Climate Change, Government of Kerala on traditional fishing and instead to open up new markets. The killing is soft; first, reducing the fishermen’s comfort and access to their boats. Then imposing new lifestyles and customs by Oamjie John is a researcher and development consultant based welcoming tourists’ bikinis, techno music and martini cocktails. in Calicut. He can be reached at [email protected] and +91- It’s a political and an economic choice. But the social and 8089399915

37 Climate change and tourism - A saga of betrayal Sumesh Mangalasseri he flood situation here was very bad. Our house was destinations. Research and analysis of this premise came to the completely flooded and we lost all our household indisputable conclusion that tourism had a major role in effecting “Titems”, says Ramakrishnan, a farmer from Alapuzha climate change. the well known tourist destination in South Kerala, India. “Our The continuing spewing of emissions from the tourism industry lives are now hovering between the devil and the deep blue sea. are clearly in conflict with global Green House Gas (GHG) On one side we are facing floods due to uneven torrential rain and reduction goals. Global tourism has resulted in 5-14% of GHG on the other planned illegal construction of a tourist resort which emissions from air travel, ground transport, infrastructure, and is aggravating the dire situation by blocking canals and preventing related activities. Transport, mainly air travel, accounts for 75% of the flow of water.” tourism emissions, while 20% of the tourism carbon footprint is The post monsoon floods which are frequent in this tourist taken up for accommodation. According to IPCC report, between region cause damages to the livelihood of local communities. The 1990–2000 global CO2 emissions grew by 13 percent where at climate here has changed significantly and has recorded an average the same time CO2 emissions from aviation grew by 25 percent. increase of around 3°C mean annual maximal temperature in the Unless stringent measures are taken the sector is poised to double last 3 decades.1 its emissions in the next ten years. “By 2035, under a ‘business as Ramakrishnan’s experience is not an isolated case. Testimonies usual’ scenario, CO2 emissions from global tourism are projected of this nature can be found in many tourist destinations. to increase by 130%.”2 The development of tourism-related infrastructure and over dependency on tourism make the local communities especially Aviation and Tourism – Turbulent Times Ahead those who are marginalised more vulnerable during and after a Air transport has relatively high emission rates per passenger- catastrophe. kilometer, especially for short distances (less than 1000 km), because emissions are particularly high during take-off and Climate change and tourism landing. High altitude emissions contribute more to global The earth’s climate is changing at a very rapid rate, devastating warming per unit than other types of anthropogenic GHG livelihood of millions, particularly the poor and the vulnerable. emissions. The UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Climate change today has become one of the most debated Organisation) projections shows that international tourism arrival politico-environmental global issues. There are differences of will increase from 800 million from 2005 to 1.1 billion in 2010 opinion among various interest groups with regard to its causes, and nearly 1.6 billion in 2020. If these forecasts are correct, we can magnitude and solutions. Irrespective of the reasons drastic see over 4 percent increases in tourist arrivals each year over the changes seen in climate is a reality. next decade with 5 percent growth in tourism related air travel.3 Tourism as an economic activity has an enormous impact on Trends show increased tourist traffic from the developed the environment and is a major contributor to carbon emissions. countries to developing countries. This growth is more evident This is an industry which is highly dependent on “natural capital”. in the emerging tourism economies where emissions have Most tourism destinations of the world are located in ecologically increased with the liberalization process. This has resulted in sensitive zones such as coastal areas and highlands. These places are prone to natural disasters and inhabited by the most vulnerable segment of the population: indigenous people and coastal communities, subsisting on local resources. The developmental policies of government are aimed at liberalising the tourism sector and furthering the expansion plans of the industry. The social, economic and environmental impacts of tourism are not getting adequate attention in the debates on tourism development. Tourism related discussions initially were mostly regarding the future threats that climate change Alappuzha sees tourists coming round the year which has a detrimental impact on the environment and poses for the sustainability of tourism in turn, local communities

38 Case study-1: Tourism alleviate or aggravate poverty?

Alappuzha, with its coconut-fringed lakes, canals, backwaters into the water. “The houseboats are a big menace now”, says R. and long sandy beaches, has become a dream holiday Visakhan, former President of the Kainakary Grama Panchayat. destination. Situated in the southern part of Kerala, South “They are discharging human excreta, condoms and other India, this region became one of the major tourism destinations waste into the lake. The bottom of the lake is full of plastic bags in the late 1990s with its infusion of attractive house boats and bottles.” Houseboats are the main attraction in the area and tourists resorts in the backwaters of Vembanadu Lake, a and play their part in luring ten percent of all foreign tourists site under the RAMSAR convention (an international treaty visiting India to the small state of Kerala. for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands). “Outboard engines create most of the pollution”, says Visitors cruise the backwaters on houseboats and enjoy the Pavithran, an elderly ferryman who uses a small country boat to laid-back lifestyle. While many local people benefit from the take people to the other side of the Pampa river – often obstructed tourism boom, the negative impacts are strongly felt including by houseboats and tourist boats. A film of petrochemicals violations of human rights. has been spreading over the water in the Vembanad Lake. It The Vembanad Lake had an extent of 36,329 hectares area is alarmingly thick in Punnamada and Kumarakom where way back in 1834. Now, that has shrunk to a mere 13,224 the largest number of houseboats anchors. Petrochemicals hectares. Beneath the appealing panorama, tons of garbage is released from two-stroke engines float on the surface micro being dumped into the lake every day, killing its biodiversity layer and settle within the estuarine and shallow ecosystems of and precious flora and fauna. bays, lakes and rivers, where marine life is youngest and most It has been estimated that about 3000 tons of waste including vulnerable. The gills, through which the fish breaths, is coated human excreta end up in the lake every year. The rise in with oil. “The fish have been showing a tendency to migrate en population of coliform bacteria, pathogenic organisms of fecal masse to the area of the lake where the film is thin or absent. If origin, has been the cause of many diseases. the situation goes unchecked, fish and other aquatic organisms Over 10000 instances of ‘land modifications’, the majority of will perish soon”, warns K.G. Padmakumar, senior scientist at which are deemed to be violations of Coastal Regulation Zone Kumarakom Regional Agricultural Research Station. According (CRZ) guidelines, have been identified along the banks of the to ornithologists, both the diversity of bird species and the bird Vembanad Lake.6 population in the area have decreased dramatically. Many tourism establishments offering services to tourists The local population is suffering in many ways. “Kuttanadu in this region are causing serious environmental and other life is very much related to water. The livelihoods of the people, problems to the local population. Scenic as it may look to which are agriculture and fishing activities, depends on the tourists, but Alappuzha is far from a water paradise. Local quality of the water here”, explains Visakhan. More than families suffer from scarcity of safe drinking water and their 10,000 people make a living from fishing – but for how much lives have been affected in many ways. This situation has longer will they be able to? “Fish and mussels are not tasty worsened with the development of tourism. anymore because of the kerosene content”, complains ferryman “Earlier, the water in the lake was very good and was potable. Pavithran, and he is not the only one to complain. “Husbands Now it is very bad because of the pollution from houseboats have blamed their wives for the kerosene taste of the food. They and other tourist boats”, says Lillykutty, a housewife from might have spoiled the food while cooking”, says K. Raju, a Kainakary near Alappuzha. She complains that now she has local fisherman. “Now we know that the kerosene taste is from to go far by boat to collect drinking water, which costs money, the fish itself.” He feels that the houseboats are threatening takes time and means an additional burden for her, and for his livelihood: “We are not able to sell fish because it carries many other women in the region. kerosene taste.” He also worries about the declining fish stock. The life and livelihood of this region is very much related “We have taken a loan from the bank for the small fishing and dependant on the surrounding lake. According to the boat and net. Now we are unable to repay the loan because Centre for Water Resources Development and Management we are not getting enough catch and sale”, adds his colleague (CWRDM) at Kozhikode (Calicut), more than 80 per cent of Sibichan. He also points out conflicts between the fishermen the people in the region rely on the canal water for their daily and the houseboat operators: “At night, houseboats are water requirements. This water is contaminated with germs, anchoring on the lake. They are destroying the fishing nets and pesticides and petrochemicals, and causes serious health many accidents already took place here.” problems. The above experience from the famous tourism destination It comes as no surprise that local tourism businesses do questions the claims of the industry lobbies and international whatever they can to meet the increasing demand. With the agencies that tourism alleviates poverty and brings economic growing number of houseboats, pollution of the backwaters growth. Evidently tourism does economically benefit the also increases. The current number of houseboats in and around chosen few. It is apparent that the development of tourism in Alappuzha is estimated at 1500. Oil and kerosene residues, this region has in many ways negatively impacted the economic sewage and kitchen waste from the boats are directly discharged viability and vulnerability of local communities.

39 large scale consumption of resources by tourists, overcrowding of epidemic such as Dengue fever, SARS have reduced the flow infrastructure facilities in tourism destinations and in the recent of tourists and as a result the economy of the region. Tourism past exploitation of local resources for the tourism industry. development has in many instances changed the traditional The rise of a new middle class in emerging economies such occupations of many local inhabitants which were less vulnerable as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and other countries and had given the local community a steady means of livelihood. has also contributed to a new demand and increase in travel. The present situation is becoming even worse by the business Disaster as an opportunity and promotion strategies of regional and national tourism Through focused and shrewd negotiations, local people organisations concentrating on increasing the number of visitors, have been gradually displaced from their home land and their supporting ‘growth oriented’ development patterns where large livelihood support systems. Big players have moved in to ‘develop’ sections of the society who bear the costs are exempted from its long untouched stretches of sandy beaches by making tempting so called benefits. offers to the fishermen who are the native coastal inhabitants. While the largest carbon emissions are legally regulated They offer a (large) sum of money as the initial purchase cost for by the Kyoto Protocol, the bunker emissions (emissions from his house and piece of land. Over months of steady negotiation, aviation and shipping) have not been included in the Protocol. they persuade the owner by telling him that it is in his interest to Defending the mounting criticism, the tourism and the aviation move; otherwise another tsunami may wipe out his hut and flood industry have identified the ‘economic importance’ of tourism the area. Or if it is not a tsunami it could be some other disaster. in poverty alleviation. This argument is not valid since the vast The question asked is why take a risk when you have a saviour majority of tourism related activities occur within regions, not with a pocket full of cash? from one region to the other. The following examples and figures The big players create huge enclaves by parcelling together explain the reality. Three in every four flights from UK are short all the land they purchase form the gullible fishermen. The area haul. Approximately 70% of the flights leaving from UK are to then gets changed into a tourist or luxury apartment zone. This destinations within the European Union. Another estimate shows acquiring of pristine land is the new strategy adopted by tourism that 43% percentage of all European flights is within 500 km and real estate players. distance. Figures from Civil Aviation Authority, UK shows that The case of Mararikulam fishing village in Alappuzha, Kerala is only 9% of the flights from UK airport are to nations in the ‘Global not unique. There are many communities around the globe with South’ defined as countries of low or medium development similar issues. Fishermen, resort owners, intensive agriculture according to world development indicators.5 The industry and industries or even power plants are all competing for access to the the UNWTO, however, continue to propagate the economic beach. advantage of tourism for poor communities around the world by They all seek to claim acres of sea shore, and some wielding using the concept of the so called ‘trickle down’ effect. Conversely, more lobbying power than others use disasters and fear of disaster the experiences from local destinations show that tourism often as an opportunity to reap economic benefits. aggravates poverty in these regions and depletes natural resources. Tourism - a double edged sword Tourism and vulnerability of the communities The paradox of tourism is that it actively contributes to the The uncertain nature of tourism with no assured guarantee changes in climate through uncontrolled and increased share has affected those from the local population who are involved in of carbon emission and also at the same time it is very climate the business. Many external incidents such as terrorist attacks, dependent and vulnerable to changes in climate.

Case study-2: Market and disaster induced displacement “How could a poor fishermen like me, having little exposure sure was that life was getting harder. and knowledge of the outside world, resist the convincing With continuing bad catches the harsh changes in climate tactics of thirty-eight people who spoke to me for three to four and its impact he was ready to make any deal and move from hours? Life here in the coastal area has been bad for the past the coast. Any deal for him meant relief. No wonder the real few years, especially after the tsunami. They told me about estate agents appeared to him as his saviours. the possibility of another tsunami and many other reasons to He was convinced after he was told about the advantages of sell my land. They even told me about global warming and its selling his small piece of land and being recompensed with a effects on the coast. Out of fear I had to agree to sell my land.” substantial amount of money. The threat of another tsunami Quoted above is the bitter experience of a fisherman from and the half-baked understanding of global warming made Mararikulam beach in Alappuzha, Kerala. For him the sea was the deal seem appealing. As a result he agreed to sell his small changing, the sun was scorching harder, and the breeze was piece of land. It didn’t take much time for him to realize that in turning hotter. He may not have understood the implications order to survive he needed to be on the coast. of global warming on his traditional livelihood but he knew for

40 Areas that give emphasis to tourism as probably the only rapidly escalating GHG emissions and the reduction targets developmental option are particularly vulnerable to climate voluntarily set by the sector. There is no policy bound reduction change as these regions are meant to be the hotspots of targets and this gap is also evident in the regional, national and international and domestic tourism. international policy regimes towards cutting down emissions. Alappuzha is a typical example; below the sea level and It is very clear that climate change is intimidating the lives and therefore prone to sea water intrusion due to rising level of the livelihood of billions of people. Poor communities who are not sea. This is perceived to be occurring due to climate change. really contributing to this catastrophe are severely affected by The Kerala State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) the impact of a problem created by others. For that very reason report says that if the sea level rises by one meter, 169 sq km of the tackling climate change is a matter of social and environmental coastal region surrounding Kochi would be inundated.7 The post justice which requires urgent and radical action at various levels. monsoon flood in this region is a recent frequent phenomenon. So the burden of adjustment to the climate crisis must be borne by The tourism and related infrastructure make this situation more those who have created it, and not by those who have been least complex by increasing pressure on resources and people. The responsible. primary victims are the poor who suffer the negative impacts of The impact of tourism on climate, communities and natural tourism and suffer the consequences of climate change. resources is interlinked. It is high time the complex social, cultural, economic and environmental impacts of tourism in destinations Advocating for false solutions are highlighted, and attention is drawn to the irresponsible The tourism industry has now come under the scanner of climate position of the tourism industry in the United Nations Framework change discussions with evidence mounting of its contribution Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). to global warming. There have been counter suggestions by the Taking actions to mitigate climate change is not just an academic well entrenched for avoiding binding regulations. They have been exercise validating technical and economical information. advocating false solutions and distorting discussions. There have It reflects the questions of ethics and values; including the been the arguments of potential sustainability of the aviation responsibility towards the most affected and for the legacy we sector through carbon offsetting, implementation of more efficient leave for future generations. A further delay in achieving progress engines and experimenting with bio fuels. These delaying tactics in this direction is a betrayal and violation of human rights of the cannot stand against the many testimonies and studies available people who are affected by the luxurious lifestyles pursued by the to prove that many of these market based solutions are failures affluent. and often have serious negative ramifications. A recent study of Friends of the Earth states that offsetting is a References dangerous distraction and does not work. Instead, the world needs 1 http://www.imdagrimet.gov.in/sites/default/files/ developed countries to prioritize cutting their own emissions AMFU%20Kumarakom%20-Report%20on%20Farmer%20 first and pay for adaptation and mitigation plans in developing awareness%20programme%20.pdf (Accessed on 26/10/2014) countries. The report argues that offsetting is having a disastrous 2 Gossling et. al., 2005; WEF, 2009; WTO, 2007 Climate impact on the prospects of averting catastrophic climate change.8 change & tourism-responding to global challenges; WTO, 2009; The suggestion for bio fuels cannot reach anywhere. To WTTC, 2009 replace the current worldwide aviation fuel requirements with 3 Plane Truths: Do the economic arguments for aviation growth Jatropha based bio fuels, for example, would require a land really fly? World Development Movement area approximately the size of 1 million square kilometres.9 4 Plane Truths: Do the economic arguments for aviation growth The conversion of large amount of land for bio fuel plantation really fly? World Development Movement will be a serious threat to food security and will displace many 5 Flying on Business – a Study of the UK Business Air Travel poor farmers and agriculture workers from their livelihood. The Market efficiency of bio fuels to bring down the carbon emissions have 6 The Hindu , February 27th 2014 been questioned by experts. Some experts have even pointed out 7 Four districts climate change hot spots,The Hindu , March that bio fuels are the worst of the available alternatives. 20th 2014, Thiruvananthapuram A decline in the growth and rate of air travel would help 8 A Dangerous distraction – Why offsetting is failing the considerably towards reducing emissions from aviation. It would climate and people: The Evidence, Friends of the Earth also reduce the scale of some of the other environmentally 9 Extract from: Can Tourism ‘Seal the Deal’ of its Mitigation damaging effects of air transport such as noise and the loss of Commitments?: The Challenge of Achieving ‘Aspirational’ land for airports and surface links. The airports with its related Emission Reduction Targets, Source : http://www.travelmole. infrastructure need huge tracts of land and other resources. They com/stories/1138517.php need to be inputted and accounted for in the overall carbon foot print calculations. Sumesh is an actve campaigner, researcher, policy analyst and Climate justice in tourism consultant for sustainable tourism. He can be reached at sumesh@ There is an increasing mismatch and gap between tourism’s kabanitour.com and +91- 9645144252

41 Climate change exacerbates the plight of farmers in Wayanad, Kerala Subini S. Nair

ulpara Varghese was a traditional farmer from the 78% since 2005-06. The cultivated area under pepper was 20,900 Kuzhimukku village near Thrikkaipetta, Wayanad ha in Wayanad in the year 2005-06 with a production of 11,483 “ district, Kerala. He has been trying his luck with tones whereas by 2013-14 the area reduced to 8633 ha bringing P 6 different methods of cultivation. He was into pepper cultivation down the production to just 2524 tones. till the end of 1990s when a disease called ‘quick wilt’ destroyed pepper vines all over the district. Then he shifted to areca nut when Area and production of black pepper in Wayanad district, Kerala7 he saw the price of the nut going up but it did not fetch him income as the ‘yellow leaf’ disease and ‘nut rot’ disease struck his crop. He committed suicide as he was unable to withstand the crisis.”1 Varghese is one among the hundreds of small and marginal farmers who take the extreme step of taking their own lives when their agricultural livelihoods are deeply affected. According to media reports, around 150 farmers in the prosperous north-eastern Kerala district of Wayanad committed suicide in the year 2004- 05.2 The media again reported that another 16 farmers committed suicide in Wayanad district in 2011, reviving the phenomenon Climate trends in Kerala that had apparently been, lying dormant since 2007. It was then Kerala is the “gateway of the monsoon” to the country and is thought that Kerala had got over the challenges facing agriculture.3 also one of the wet places in the humid tropics. The annual rainfall All this news did not draw our attention to climate change but of Kerala is about 2.7 times the national average, receiving about made our fingers point at unfavorable farmer policies and increase 3000 mm as against 1150 mm of the national average. The State in pests and diseases as the reasons of disappointing crop yields. is bestowed with 44 rivers and a number of backwaters, streams, “They can carry away only the pepper vines from our land but canals and other inland water bodies. It has a rich biodiversity and never the Thiruvathira Njattuvela”4, said one of the Zamorin Kings the tropical rainforests spread across 13 agro-ecological zones based who ruled the Malabar region of Kerala (Pre independence period) on topography, rain fall distribution, soil and altitude. The State when the British East India Company took away the pepper vines is blessed with abundant rainfall during the southwest monsoon from this region.5 Thiruvathira Njattuvela in the Malayalam season due to the North-South orientation of the Western Ghats. calendar is considered to be the most important period for crops, as Kerala’s economy, to a great extent, is dependent on plantation there is steady rain at that time of the year providing equal amount crops which are very much influenced by weather factors. There of rain and sun. Today this balance has been completely skewered was an increase in annual mean temperature of 0.49°C over a with unpredictable monsoons and prolonged dry spells. period of 103 years (1901-2003) with rising uncertainties in “Agriculture in Wayanad is climate dependent. Continuous rainfall during the current decade. Droughts during summer and changes in the climate put us in deep trouble. If the main crop floods during the rainy season are not uncommon here. On a fails we are unable to continue the cultivation. Besides, crops regional scale, the maximum, minimum, mean temperatures and have become more disease prone, causing major losses. Erratic temperature ranges over Kerala showed an increasing trend from changes in soil temperature and moisture level favor growth of 1956 to 2009 and more significantly since 1981 onwards. Over soil pathogens and pests leading to crop diseases and affecting a period of 54 years, the rise in maximum temperature was high the yield”, says Palliyara Raman (80), a farmer from a joint family (1.46°C) across the high ranges like Wayanad compared to the that owns 70 acres of land where paddy, coffee and pepper are other regions of Kerala.8 cultivated. Kerala, the land of spices attracted many traders since ancient Farmer voices from Wayanad times and it blossomed mainly with the arrival of the Portuguese. Poulose, a 75 year old farmer, who had settled in Wayanad in “Pepper vines grew naturally around any tree in between other the early 1950s, recalls the time when he used to cultivate and crops, and were always a savior when we wanted cash to make harvest oranges. He laments, saying, “It is sad that the climate has our small dreams come true. But not anymore, since the changing changed to such an extent that these days not a single fruit tree is climate is affecting the crops. Wayanad in particular is losing the grown.” blessing of the black gold”, says Radhakrishnan (60), a farmer from The Wayanad region of Kerala, a high-altitude valley and a Chooralmala, Wayanad. district in the north-east of Kerala is situated where the Western The area under cultivation of pepper in the district has reduced Ghats and Eastern Ghats converge, bringing together the elements by 59% over the past 10 years bringing down its production by of both climate systems in one place. Wayanad is basically agrarian,

42 with plantation economy playing a major role. 1142 Sq. km of the commission to address the agrarian crisis. Much of the political total area (54%) is used for agriculture.9 Tea, coffee, cardamom, campaign of groups such as Farmers Relief Forum in Wayanad was cocoa and black pepper are the major crops grown and all these limited to stopping confiscation of farms and houses of farmers crops are temperature sensitive. by the banks”, said AC Varkey, Chairman of the Farmers Relief Wayanad, like much of rural Kerala, has a majority of its Forum. livelihoods directly dependent on the climate. There is a much higher increase in temperature in this region when compared to The de-glorified black gold story the mid and low lands of Kerala due to deforestation. Black pepper (piper nigrum), the world’s most widely used spice, Major climate trends observed in Wayanad include a weakening originated in the rain forests of Kerala, and has reigned supreme for in the early phase of the south-west monsoon precipitation and the last 4000 years. Once a major crop grown in Wayanad, it is today more frequent days of heavy rainfall hastening maturation in a facing major survival challenges. Pest attacks and diseases have variety of crops. The annual rainfall from the southwest monsoon reduced its yield.13 Farmer interviews and discussions with micro rainfall is observed to be declining while the post monsoon rainfall biologists point out that varying soil temperature and excessive is increasing.10 rainfall increases soil acidity due to leaching of calcium and “The highest temperature I ever experienced in Wayanad was magnesium components in the soil. This kills the favorable microbes on March 9, 2010 when it touched 39 degree Celsius. These days, in the soil. Climatic factors further encourage faster multiplication Indian cuckoos are found here more frequently which is a sign of of Phytophthora, a soil fungus which attacks the fibrous roots of the the change occurring in Wayanad’s climate”, says Ratnakaran (55), pepper vine causing the quick wilt disease in pepper. a coffee farmer who inherited his 21 acre farm land from his father. Pepper has always been a quick cash crop for small farmers of Traditional farmers have the acquired skill of judging the the region where homestead farming is prevalent. Daniel (49), a weather patterns by observing the behavior of the clouds, their small farmer from Thrikkaippetta, Wayanad remembers that 25 environment and the feel of the soil. According to which he could years ago his 1 acre farm land used to yield at least 1 tone of pepper decide, when to sow, what to sow, when to transplant and in which a year whereas today his losses are irrecoverable as he hardly gets a part of his field. This had helped him make a successful harvest yield of 25 kilograms. every year. He practiced the multi cropping system where he did The pepper plant requires a long normal rainy season and not have to rely on a single crop so that at least one crop would fairly high temperatures with partial shade for its best growth. The perform its best every year out of the 4 or 5 different crops he tropical climate and the heavy monsoons of Kerala are ideal for this cultivates at various intervals based on the seasons. This system crop. Continuous rainfall during the southwest monsoon season of cultivation used to help farmers to be more resilient towards is good for better flowering and spike elongation and finally the the effects of climatic change. But today climate variations are berry development. In fact, in the case of black pepper, it is the beyond a farmer’s traditional skill acquired from his forefathers, distribution pattern of monsoon rainfall and the timely occurrence forcing him to the predicament of relying on luck rather than his of the “thiruvathira njattuvela” which determines its yield. hard work. The liberalization policies initiated in the 1990s by the The main pepper growing areas in Wayanad such as Pulpally, Indian government further accelerated the farmers’ plight. Mullankolly and Poothadi were the worst affected, forcing many farmers to look for alternative crops. The yield reduction during Global policies and local reverberations the 1990s could be attributed to incidence of diseases and pest India’s first free trade agreement with Sri Lanka (India-Sri Lanka attacks. The drought and acute water stress reported in 2004 in Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA) signed in the year 2000 definitely Wayanad district devastated the very young and old pepper vines. helped in increasing bilateral trade but farmers in Wayanad had Radhakrishnan (60) recalls cultivating “Wayanadan”, a climate to bear the brunt of its negative economy. The agreement led to resistant traditional variety of pepper. Although less yielding imports of duty free black pepper from Sri Lanka which saw an and needing 5-6 years to mature this variety was climate resilient increase from 1385.3 tons in 1999-2000 to 4865 tons in 2004-05 compared to the hybrid varieties cultivated now. The introduction resulting in a free fall in local prices from Rs. 21,502 per quintal to of the high yielding variety Panniyoor“ ” developed by the pepper Rs. 6644 in the corresponding period.11 research station at Panniyoor, Kannur district in Kerala about 35 Pepper in the district meanwhile was facing a major disease. years ago attracted the farmers as it started yielding within 3 years The fall in the price added to the crisis. The suicides of farmers in of planting. The pepper farmers of Wayanad had to go through Wayanad have to be viewed in this background. The 1980s and long hard experiences to realize that these new varieties were more 1990s saw huge pepper production increases in Brazil. There was prone to climate variations than the traditional varieties. also the government investment in Vietnam towards expansion of its coffee export sector. This resulted in an oversupply of coffee The dying flavors from the coffee plantations of Wayanad which brought about the coffee crisis between the years 1999 to One of the best crops suitable for Wayanad’s climate is Coffee. It 2004.12 The price of coffee hit a 32-year low in 2000-2001 all over is a tropical plant where temperature, rainfall, sunlight, wind and the world which badly hit the Wayanad farmers. “Many farmers are soil are important for its ideal growth but the requirements vary still reeling from this crisis and continue to be in a debt trap despite according to the varieties grown. some attempts by the Kerala Government to form a farmer’s relief In general, coffee needs an annual rainfall of 1500 to 3000 mm

43 and it is the most important weather element influencing flowering to understand and take immediate measures to mitigate climate and yield of coffee.14 The ideal average temperatures range between change if its farming community has to survive. 15 to 24ºC for Arabica coffee variety and 24 to 30ºC for Robusta variety of coffee which can flourish under warmer conditions.15 References Wayanad region initially had cultivated more of Arabica variety 1 Dead farmers of Wayanad tell bitter tales -The Hindu, which is mostly recognized as the best coffee for its mildness and Kalpetta, February 18th,http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/ flavor. Arabica used to fetch a good market price. However, the tp-national/farmer-suicides-rise-in-wayanad/article2855890.ece agro-climatic situations needed for this variety kept changing in 2 Report by the Sanhaticollective: Farmer suicides in India A Wayanad leading to the leaf rust disease in the crop, forcing the policy induced disaster of epic proportions farmers to shift to the Robusta variety which is more robust in 3 http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/ terms of facing climate variations. dead-farmers-of-wayanad-tell-bitter-tales/article2905895.ece Blossom shower16 of 20-40 mm is needed for the flower buds 4 “Njattuvela” refers to position of the sun in relation to zodiac and backing shower17 of 50-75mm for fruit development and signs. There are 27 Njattuvela every year, each with duration of retention.18 The failure of any of these rains would lead to poor thirteen-and-a-half days. yields. Delay in blossom showers beyond March, seen in the recent 5 http://www.keralatravelandtourism.in/culture/njattuvelas.htm years, also affects the yield. “Inadequate summer showers increases 6 District wise area and production of black Pepper in Kerala, the temperature and boosts pest attacks. Most farmers then resort Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Kerala to cutting down and selling trees in the coffee plantations to meet 7 Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of the costs”, says Ratnakaran, a coffee farmer from Kalpetta. Kerala 8 http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/5210/14/14_ Rising pests and loosing soil fertility chapter%2010.pdf 80 year old Palliyara Raman, an adivasi farmer, is gradually 9 http://www.jananeethi.org/jananeethi/reports/wayanadsuiciderpt.pdf shifting back to traditional varieties of seeds which are more 10 Climate Trends in Wayanad: Voices from the Community resilient to climate change. “A good farmer needs to be creative”, :Danesh Kumar and Pavan Srinath says Raman. However sincerely and creatively he tries to nurture 11 http://www.bilaterals.org/spip.php?page=print&id_ his farming environment, he is not beyond the larger crisis of article=10767, Kerala SwathanthraMatsyaThozhilalifederation( climate change. Kerala Independent Fish workers federation )www. Pests have always been an issue for farmers. Variation in the keralafishworkers.org climate is accelerating its proliferation. But it has not caught the 12 http://www.fairtrade.net/fileadmin/user_upload/ much needed attention of the scientific community. The losses of content/2009/resources/2012_Fairtrade_and_coffee_Briefing.pdf farmers continue to be overlooked. The policies in place also favors 13 http://www.spices.res.in/pdf/package/pepper.pdf him the least. 14 http://nl.solidaridadnetwork.org/sites/solidaridadnetwork. In addition, the depletion of soil organic matter19 due to org/files/CoffeeBarometer_2014_online.pdf deforestation, change in the cultivation pattern, biomass burning, 15 http://www.ico.org/ecology.asp?section=About_Coffee drainage of wetlands, tillage, crop residue removal, overuse of 16 the rainfall received between beginning of March to April end pesticides and other chemicals, etc has also affected the fertility of in the case of Arabica and from mid-February to first week of April the soil.20 in the case of Robusta 17 the rainfall received from 18th day of the starting of blossom More struggle ahead for a farmer showers till 40th day Climate projections indicate that the increase in temperature 18 http://www.indiacoffee.org/CoffeeBoard/Risc-2013/4%20 over the country is likely to be around 3°C by the end of the Kerala%20SUMMARY%20%20FORMS.pdf century.21 The agriculture sector will be affected severely with the 19 the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant increase in CO2 levels and temperatures. and animal residues at various stages of decomposition, cells However, farmers’ issues are less addressed during global trade and tissues of soil organisms, and substances synthesized by soil negotiations and discussions and policies are framed protecting organisms the interests of the larger players. 20 http://www.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/tillage/ The government has recently declared Wayanad as a climate importance-of-soil-organic-matter/ vulnerable region since it has already started to experience the 21 http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/ ill effects of irresponsible acts of humans such as mining of bitstream/10603/5210/8/08_chapter%204.pdf mountains, large scale deforestation, land use changes, leveling of 22 http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342 paddy land for constructions, extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, etc. The sensitivity and biodiversity of the Western Ghats22 is least considered by the mining and land lobbies and Subini is a researcher on climate change and sustainable policy makers when choosing between development, wealth and development and tourism, cultivation and industry. She can be ecology. The current situation demands the affluent communities reached at [email protected] and +91- 9656500045