The Ecosystem based Adaptation of wetland residents A case study of the Pallikaranai Marshland, India P. H. J. van der Hem Supervising teacher: M. Bavinck Bachelor thesis project on Ecosystems – Governance and services Table of Content 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3 2. Wetlands‟ services .................................................................................................. 5 Flood control and ground water recharge ............................................................... 6 Water purification and water filtration from pollutants ............................................. 7 Biodiversity and recreation ...................................................................................... 8 The problem with financial valuation of ecosystem services ................................... 8 3. The Pallikaranai Marshland .................................................................................... 9 Geology of the Pallikaranai Marshland.................................................................. 12 Biodiversity of the Pallikaranai Marshland ............................................................. 12 Wasteland status .................................................................................................. 13 Increasing population and waste ........................................................................... 14 Flooding ................................................................................................................ 15 Size deterioration .................................................................................................. 16 4. Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................... 17 Ecosystems and their services .............................................................................. 17 Resilience ............................................................................................................. 17 Ecological resilience .......................................................................................... 17 Social resilience ................................................................................................ 18 Ecosystem based Adaptation ................................................................................ 18 5. Methodology ......................................................................................................... 22 Choice of study area/population ............................................................................ 22 Data collection ...................................................................................................... 23 Marshall‟s indicators.............................................................................................. 25 6. Results .................................................................................................................. 25 Introduction of the study area ................................................................................ 27 1 | P a g e Contemporary natural problems ............................................................................ 30 Historic natural problems ...................................................................................... 31 Contemporary counter measures .......................................................................... 34 Historic counter measures .................................................................................... 35 The water problem............................................................................................. 36 Entrepreneurial adaptations .................................................................................. 38 Shopkeeper ....................................................................................................... 38 The waste collectors .......................................................................................... 39 School ............................................................................................................... 39 Recognized barriers .............................................................................................. 40 Government actions .............................................................................................. 41 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 43 Literature .................................................................................................................. 46 Appendix ................................................................................................................... 52 Questionnaire ........................................................................................................ 52 2 | P a g e 1. Introduction Climate change is a fact. Since prehistoric times until the current 21st century global temperature has been increasing and declining in steady paces. However, the last centuries the global temperature has been rising at an increasingly alarming speed. This increase in speed is for a relatively large part attributed to mankind (IPCC, 2013; Rockström et al., 2009). The effects of this partially human induced climate change radiate on both nature and men. Quantities of phytoplankton are reducing due to increasing temperatures (Hays, Richardson, Robinson, 2005), nitrogen and phosphorus cycles are being disrupted (Rockström et al., 2009), ozone within the stratosphere is decreasing (Rockström et al., 2009), and with regard to biodiversity this era is already denominated as the start of the fifth mass extinction in planetary history (Ehrlich, 1994; Myers, 1996; Pimm, Russell, Gittleman, Brooks, 1995; Wilson, 1992). Climate change heavily affects the nature and composition of ecosystems, particularly wetlands (ICEM, 2012). There are different types of wetlands however, some being more threatened by climate change than others. Especially urban wetlands endure more stress due to their proximity to cities. In these areas the societal uses of the wetlands compete with the alternative of (urban) development of the area. With an increasingly urban world population these pressures are only expected to increase over the span of time. One of the countries where this is a very current issue, is India. In the metropolitan region of Chennai in the south eastern part of India lies the Pallikaranai Marshland. The Pallikaranai Marshland is one of the few surviving urban wetlands in India. The difficulties that go along with the coexistence of wetlands and human development continue to portray their effects in the contemporary situation of the Pallikaranai Marshland. Sewage treatment facilities, dumpsites, residential areas and commercial areas have all encroached the wetland over the last decades and continue to do so (Vencatesan, 2014). Urban wetlands differ from other wetlands in their competitiveness for space with the urban areas. Up until relatively recently wetlands were regarded as unhealthy areas which provided none or not many benefits to the people making use of them and were often perceived as a barrier for economic development (Vileisis, 1997). 3 | P a g e Urbanization thereby poses a threat for urban wetlands. By developing commercial and residential areas and infrastructure the wetlands have to give in to urban development (Booth, 1991; Knutson et al., 1999; Lehtinen et al., 1999; Azous and Horner, 2000). While commercial and residential areas utilize primarily the surface area of the wetland, infrastructural projects might not be just but are rather impairing to the wetland. This impairment is done by changing the characteristics of the wetland such as water flow, fragmentation, etc. and thereby destabilizing the overall stability and equilibria of the wetlands. Degradation of water quality by (chemical) waste disposal plays a highly influential role in impairing a wetland. The trade-offs between development and ecological conservation are particularly hard for planning agencies because the (potential) costs and benefits are high in both the development scenario as the conservation scenario (Boyar & Polasky, 2004). A particularly difficult predicament is the calculation of costs and benefits of wetlands. Contemporary literature agrees that wetlands play important role in human society but also in major ecosystems and/or climates. This thesis aims to add knowledge about the current ecosystem based adaptation of local residents in or near the Pallikaranai Marshland. This information is important to understand who lives in these contested areas, what their problems are and how people cope with those problems. The study evaluates perceived problems and adaptations between the years 1959 and 2014. The thesis revolves around the following question: How do local households adapt to changes in the waste disposal ecosystem service of the Pallikaranai marshland? The thesis will start off with a basic understanding of some of the ecosystem services a wetland provides. Second general information is provided concerning the Pallikaranai Marshland, Chennai, and several current and major problems regarding the marshland are highlighted. Third social and ecological resilience is discussed and linked to the concept of ecosystem based adaptation. Fourth, the methodology and experiences are discussed within the framework of this research. Fifth, results of the study are analyzed and discussed.