Urbanization of a Protected Wetland

2014 Urbanization of a Protected Wetland A Case Study of the Pallikaranai Marsh, India A Bachelor thesis by Bram Popkema Supervisor: Maarten Bavinck 14-8-2014 1 Bram Popkema, Human Geography, University of Amsterdam Bachelor’s Thesis, submitted on 14-8-2014 Abstract Urbanization of a Protected Wetland: A Case Study of the Pallikaranai Marsh, India The aim of this study is to investigate how urbanization and the accompanying waste problem of South-Chennai affects the Pallikaranai Marshland in a physical manner, looking at changes of the marsh and its surroundings through a planological point of view, without going deep into the ecological perspective. The data for this study were collected through a six weeks preparation of literature study, and an empirical part which consisted of four weeks of extensive observations and interviews with important stakeholders. This methodology will be further explained in the first stage of the thesis, together with a theoretical framework and contextual information. The second part illustrates the conducted observations and recent changes of the marsh. Finally, the influence of the waste problem, future plans of the government and Indian politics will be elaborated. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that the area of the marshland is reduced significantly in the last couple of decades, and it currently suffers from serious contamination by the dump yard. The allocation of a large part of the marshland to the Forest Department in 2007 has protected its size in recent years, and future plans of the government are looking good for the conservation and even the improvement of the marsh. It is, however, questionable when and if these measures will be taken, and in which matter corruption or other priorities are playing a role. 2 Preface and acknowledgements Developing countries generally know a high rate of urbanization. This thesis highlights the situation of urbanization and the accompanying problems in the Indian city Chennai. This work will be done as a thesis assignment for me as bachelor student Future Planet Studies and Human Geography at the University of Amsterdam. The project would be about coastal governance or a topic which relates to it. During six weeks before departure to the field, the 17 students of us organized ourselves in 4 different groups who all had another topic. Our group consists of four people and we brought our focus to the Pallikaranai marsh, with each of us another approach. In the six weeks we took preparations for the fieldwork we would do in Chennai, and followed a lecture series about India in general. The first two of six weeks in India we got lectures about ecosystem governance and services in coastal areas. Then we started the four weeks of fieldwork at the Pallikaranai marsh and surroundings. Back in The Netherlands we transformed all this information to this thesis. I would like give some acknowledgements to a couple of people. Firstly my two supervisors Maarten Bavinck, and in the beginning Jaap Rothuizen, for all the enthusiastic and energetic support and knowledge they had put in helping me with this project. Secondly I would like to thank the three students of my group: Rita Seijelmass, Peter van der Hem and Yorick Vink. Although we all had another research, the collaboration with these students helped me a lot with the research. Thirdly and most important I would like to thank Karthick Radhakrishnan, assistant of the Associate Professor Madras Institute of Development Studies. He helped us from the start as a guide to explore and explain the area. During the entire fieldwork he was a very helpful contact and information point who helped us getting in touch with people we would never get to by ourselves. In this thesis I will refer to him as my guide. 3 Table of Contents ABSTRACT 2 PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 3 INTRODUCTION 6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 6 RESEARCH METHOD 7 CONTEXT 9 GROWTH OF THE CITY 9 GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE 9 GOVERNMENT AUTHORITIES RELEVANT TO THE PALLIKARANAI MARSH 9 CURRENT SITUATION OF THE PALLIKARANAI MARSH 10 GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PALLIKARANAI MARSH 10 LOCATION 10 DESCRIPTION OF THE AREA 10 BIODIVERSITY 11 DESCRIBING SURROUNDING AREAS 11 CURRENT OBSERVATION AND FINDINGS OF URBANIZATION IN THE AREA 12 NORTH OF THE 200FT ROAD 12 WEST OF PALLIKARANAI MARSH 13 EAST OF PALLIKARANAI MARSH 14 CHANGES OF THE AREA IN THE RECENT HISTORY (2000-2014) 15 FUTURE SITUATION OF THE PALLIKARANAI MARSH 17 WASTE DUMPING, POLLUTING AND THE PERUNGUDI DUMP YARD 17 SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT 17 PERUNGUDI DUMP YARD 18 FUTURE PLANS OF THE GOVERNMENT 20 PROTECTION AGAINST ENCROACHMENT 20 PLANS OF THE GOVERNMENT 21 MOVEMENT OF THE DUMP YARD 22 ROLE OF INDIAN POLITICS 22 HIERARCHY 23 CONFIDENCE 23 4 COMMUNICATION 23 BACKROOM POLITICS 24 CONCLUSION 24 DISCUSSION 25 LITERATURE 26 APPENDIX 28 5 Introduction information that will be helpful to understand the case and its situation. The main findings The Pallikaranai Marsh is a wetland situated will be discussed by some general information, 20 kilometre south of the centre of Chennai, historical changes, current observations, the India. It is one of the last surviving natural Perungudi dumpsite and his problems, future wetlands of the south of India (The Hindu, plans concerning the marshland and a last 2011). This freshwater swamp has a high part about Indian government style. The thesis biodiversity of both plants as animals, and is will end with the conclusion and a discussion. therefore assigned as a protected area by the government of Chennai. This was necessary to Theoretical framework retain the marshland because its size decimated in the last 50 years (Chennai City To get a clearer view of what we mean by Connect & Care Earth, N.D.). This is mainly urbanization I would like to quote a simplified due to the growth of the city and the definition of Vlahov and Galea (2002): accompanying urbanization. This urbanization “Urbanization is the process that involves the leads to problems for the marshland in terms emerge in growth (or decrease in size) of of encroachment and pollution. The first cities”. This development mostly goes problem is an ongoing situation of together with the growth of population of the encroachment of the marsh since the growing city due to migration towards the city. It is city reached the edges of the marshland. The also possible that towns nearby get added to second problem mainly began to start with the city because they get swallowed by its the arrival of a city dump yard 25 years ago. borders. Urbanization has not always to do Over the years and even now the dump yard with population numbers. Constructing areas got bigger and bigger, and contamination of for a business park, infrastructure or the marshland got worse and worse. These governmental buildings also count as two problems will be researched in this paper urbanization. trying to get an answer to the research question: A result of this urbanization is often the creation of segregation and the accompanying How does urbanization and the accompanying formation of the so called slums and gated waste problem affect the Pallikaranai Marsh communities. Blandy and Lister (2006) define in a physical manner, looking at changes of a gated community as followed: “Gated the marsh and its surroundings through a Communities have an explicit boundary, planological point of view, without going deep access by non-residents is restricted, the into the ecological perspective? development is usually managed by the residents, and there are legal constraints on To give further explanation of the terms used residents' behaviour and use of their in the research question, this introduction will properties”. The most important reason for be followed by a theoretical framework. After the existence of these gated communities is that, there will follow the research method to the feeling of these people that they need a explain how the research is designed. Here safe and secured environment for them and will be told which methods will be used, how their surroundings. A slum can be defined as information will be gathered and processed, “a heavily populated urban area characterised and what problems the research could by substandard housing and squalor” (UN- encounter. Next will be given some context habitat, 2007). It is a quite simple and physical 6 description of the housing form, but it mostly wetland, however, there is a waste problem, refers to lower quality or informal housing. which is mainly caused by the Perungudi There are various other names that could also dumpsite. This dumpsite of 200 hectares big describe these areas, just as one slum can contains toxic waste which flows into the differ a lot from another slum. In some slums marshland and damages and decreases its the houses are built as simple as possible, and biodiversity (Jawaharlal Nehru Technological sometimes they are made of a good University, 2008). foundation and seem to be in good shape, but what most of them have in common are a lack Research method in electricity, water and sanitation. This research was done by a case study of the area Pallikaranai. The information was When writing about how urbanization affects gathered by several different methods. Before the wetland, we mean in what matter does the fieldwork there has been done a lot of the urbanization lead to a decrease of the reading about the area and the situation. marshland in qualitative and quantitative Literature has been read about physical manner. The quantitative aspect focusses on change of the area, about the Pallikaranai the size of the wetland, and whether this Marsh as an ecosystem, about the Perungudi decreases, stays protected, or even grows. dump yard, about the government structure The qualitative aspect is one which focusses and about rules and plans of the government on the environmental issues of the marshland, concerning the whole situation.

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