Nature Initiative Kerala

Delayed start for CRZ regime in State

K.S. Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, January 24, 2019

Kerala may have to wait for some time to take advantage of the new Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification for want of an approved Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP).
For the new notification to come into play, coastal States, including Kerala, will have to get their CZMPs prepared under the CRZ, 2011 notification updated in tune with the 2019 notification issued last week. The CZMP, prepared in consultation with various stakeholders, will define the development activities that could be undertaken along the coastal belt. Under normal circumstances, the CZMP shall not be revised in five years.
For Kerala, even the CZMP prepared under the 2011 notification has not been approved and the document is awaiting the nod of the National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA).
The thus notified CZMP will then have to be revised in tune with the 2019 notification and submitted for the approval of the Ministry. While revising the CZMP, the State will have to repeat the process of public hearing and inviting comments from all stakeholders regarding the changes it intends to make in the document.
It was after a delay of nearly three years that the State succeeded in preparing a CZMP.
Section 6 (1) of the CRZ, 2019 notification specifies that the new CRZ regime will not come into force unless the coastal States revise or update their respective CZMPs.

Norms to continue

It further states that “until and unless the CZMPs is so revised or updated, provisions of this notification shall not apply and the CZMP as per provisions of CRZ Notification, 2011 shall continue to be followed for appraisal and CRZ clearance to such projects.” Till the revised CZMP is approved, the CRZ, 2011 will have to be considered for clearing projects, according to the new notification.
According to those at the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority, the CZMP of the 10 coastal districts have been submitted to the NCZMA for approval. Once approved, the document could be revised in tune with the latest notification, they hoped.
Any changes in the CRZ notification will have far-reaching ramifications in the State, which has a nearly 580-km-long coastline and hundreds of thickly populated islands in its backwater and mainland coast. With its high population density and pressure from the tourism, industry and housing sectors, the management of the CRZ regime has always proved to be a tough task for the authorities.

New notification for coastal areas in force

K.S. Sudhi, Kochi
The Hindu, January 23, 2019

The Union Ministry of Environment and Forest released the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 2019 notification on Friday, opening up the coastline of the country for construction and tourism activities.
The new notification could result in reduction of No Development Zones (NDZ) significantly. This may pave the way for a construction boom along the coastline.
Tourism sector is to benefit from the relaxation of NDZ, as more hotels and resorts are likely come up on the beach areas. Tourism activities could be undertaken in the designated areas to be identified by the State governments and included in their respective Coastal Zone Management Plan, according to the notification.
Most of the recommendations of an expert committee headed by Shailesh Nayak, which looked into the concerns of coastal States and various stakeholders, relating to the CRZ 2011 notification were incorporated in the new notification, according CRZ experts.
The notification has classified the CRZ 3 areas (the land areas that are relatively undisturbed and those which do not fall under CRZ 2) into CRZ 3 A and 3 B based on the density of population.
The areas with a population density of 2,161 persons or more per square kilometre, as in the 2011 census, will be become CRZ 3 A and construction activities could be undertaken towards the landward side from the 50 metre point of the High Tide Line (HTL).
All other CRZ-3 areas with population density of less than 2,161 persons per square kilometre will be designated as CRZ-3 B and development activities will be permitted beyond the 200-metre-mark from the HTL towards the landward side.
The notification has covered all the backwater islands and islands along the mainland coast and a uniform NDZ of 20 metres from the HTL towards the landward side has been put in place.
All the coastal States with such islands will prepare Integrated Island Management Plans and get them approved by the Ministry. The 2019 notification will come into force in these islands only when the Plan is framed.
B. Madhusoodana Kurup, former Vice chancellor of the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, said the new notification failed to acknowledge the issues of global warming and sea level rise.
Even though the notification did away with the No Development Zone for the construction and repair of dwelling units of communities including fishermen along the coast, it would expose these group to the perils of nature more. The opening of the coast for tourism activities would lead to reduced livelihood options for fishermen, he feared.
K.K. Ramachandran, a former member secretary of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority, said while the notification attempted to bring in some clarity on the enforcement aspects, it could result in misuse of provisions for eco-tourism activities in mangrove stretches and compensatory afforestation for affected mangroves.

‘VIP’ sighting at Kadalundi enthuses birders

Abdul Latheef Nahan MalappuRAm
The Hindu, January 20, 2019

The sighting of a lone Great thick-knee at the Kadalundi-Vallikkunnu Community Reserve last week has enthused researchers studying the annual migrant bird visits to the estuarine sanctuary.
Sujesh P.K. and Athira T.R., who have been studying the foraging habits of the shorebirds reaching Kadalundi from thousands of miles afar to escape the harsh winter, said Great thick-knee, also called Great stone-curlew, was sighted at Kadalundi for the first time in 14 years.
“We were so excited to find a lone Great thick-knee near a couple of Eurasian oystercatchers during an observation last week. It is a sign that new migrant species have begun to prefer Kadalundi,” said Ms. Athira.
She said Great thick-knee, though a local migrant, had not been reported at Kadalundi since 2005. “We have the complete data of migrant species that reached Kadalundi during winter in the last 14 years. Although the presence of several rare species was reported, it’s the first time we could see an extremely sensitive Great thick-knee in the sanctuary,” she said.
Mr. Sujesh said they could observe the ‘VIP’ only from a good distance because of its sensitive nature.
“It was feeding voraciously on small crabs in the mudflats using its powerful beaks,” said Mr. Sujesh. The researcher duo had found a few Bar-tailed godwits and Eurasian oystercatchers at Kadalundi a couple of months ago. Both those birds have been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as near-threatened species. “Those birds, particularly Bar-tailed godwit, are not among the common migrants reaching the Kerala coast during winter,” said Mr. Sujesh.

Researchers upbeat

A bird known for long, non-stop inter-continental migration, Bar-tailed godwit too has given fresh hopes for researchers by re-emerging at Kadalundi after many years. Ms. Athira and Mr. Sujesh demanded that efforts be made to prevent all kinds of waste, particularly poultry and slaughter waste, from reaching the community reserve.
The waste gets caught in the mangroves, inviting scavenger and predator birds to the region. Waste is the predominant reason for the presence of crows and kites in the sanctuary. “Crows and kites scare away the migrants, however large the visitor birds are. Ridding the mangroves and mudflats of waste is the best way to handle the threat the migrant birds face from crows and kites,” said Ms. Athira.

Jackal spotted for the first time in PTR

Giji K. Raman, IDUKKI
The Hindu, January 17, 2019

The presence of a jackal was reported for the first time in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) recently. Patric David, a researcher at the Periyar Tiger Conservation Foundation (PTCF), noticed the animal near a penstock pipe carrying water from the Mullaperiyar dam to Tamil Nadu on January 9. It was later photographed by naturalist Rajkumar. After scrutiny of the photograph and the descriptions of its behaviour, it was confirmed by wildlife experts P.S. Easa and Vivek Menon as the golden jackal. It is believed that the animal might have entered the forest from the eastern side of the Western Ghats.

Usual habitat

Mr. Easa who has been conducting animal research at the PTR from 1990, said this was the first sighting of jackal (Canis aureus) in the area.
The photograph is the first evidence of its presence. Jackals are mostly found in open areas with thorny shrubs. Researchers at the PTR said that the animal might have either entered the PTR in search of the remains of carnivorous animals such as tiger or leopard or reached the area after being separated from its group.
Compared to the eastern side of the Western Ghats, which is in the rain shadow area, the PTR is green and has fewer geographical features preferred by the Canis aureus species. It is notified as an animal in the category of ‘Least Concern’ on the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. Native to Southeast Europe, Southwest Asia and South Asia, its presence is widespread in areas where food is abundant. It is also seen in groups near tributaries or lakes and is rarely found in foothills and low mountains.

Tribes’ version

However, a tribal leader at Mannakudy settlement near PTR said their ancestors had seen jackals scavenging from burial sites. As jackals mostly move during night, their presence is not easily noticed. An official at the PTR said there were no records yet of the presence of jackal in the area.

In a first, Wayanad’s vultures surveyed

E.M. Manoj, KALPETTA
The Hindu, January 17, 2019

The first-ever vulture and raptor survey that concluded in the Wayanad landscape recently recorded 24 species of raptors and four species of vultures.
The three-day programme, organised by the Forest and Wildlife Department, was held in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) and two territorial forest divisions, including the South and North Wayanad Forest Divisions.
Raptors come under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and have apex predator status in an ecosystem.
The Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) was spotted at Kakkapadom under the Muthanga forest range of the sanctuary after five years, N.T Sajan, warden,WSS, said.
“Nearly 100 white-rumped vultures, including 34 at Kakkapadom and 35 at Narimanthykolly in the Tholpetty forest range, were spotted during the survey. While 15 red-headed vultures and an Indian vulture were sighted at Kakkapadom, a Himalayan griffon was spotted at Narimanthikkolly,” Mr. Sajan, who supervised the survey, said.
Sixty-four wildlife enthusiasts across the State, including 10 students of the Centre for Wildlife Studies, Pookode, and 10 students from the College of Forestry at Vellanikkara, took part in the survey. Sixteen base camps were set across the landscape for the purpose.

Major species

The major species of raptors recorded during the survey included Legge’s hawk eagle, Oriental honey buzzard, Shikra, Booted eagle, Common kestrel, Crested- hawk eagle, Short-toed snake eagle, Black eagle, Lesser-fish eagle, Crested-goshawk, Jerdons baza, Common buzzard, Grey-headed fish eagle, Greater -spotted eagle, Shaheen falcon, and Eurasian sparrow hawk, O.Vishnu, wildlife biologist, WWS, said.

Owl species

Five species of owls, including jungle owlet, brown fish owl, oriental scops owl, and barn owl, were also recorded during the survey, Mr. Vishnu added .
Sandeep Das, research fellow, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Thrissur; Roshnath Ramesh, research fellow, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod; R.L. Rabish, College of Veterinary Science, Pookode; and Ashok Kumar, Centre for Wildlife, Pookode; led various camps.
Ornithologist Sathyan Meppayur conducted an orientation session on vulture and raptor identification.

Waterbird survey spots three new species

Staff Reporter, Alappuzha
The Hindu, January 14, 2019

A waterbird survey conducted in the Upper Kuttanad region has recorded 16,767 birds of 47 continental and local species. The survey, conducted as part of the annual Asian Waterbird Census, has spotted three new species — Greater flamingo, Grey-headed lapwing, and Blue-cheeked bee-eater.
However, compared to the previous years, the number of winged visitors to the region has declined drastically. In 2017, the survey recorded 28,198 birds whereas 41,576 were spotted last year. According to B. Sreekumar of the Kottayam Nature Society and Harikumar Mannar, the birder who led the survey, the August deluge and subsequent delay in preparing paddy fields for the Puncha crop season could be the reason behind the sharp fall.

15 places

This year, the survey was conducted in 15 places. Ikkaramukku and Naluthodu Padasekharams registered the highest number of bird sightings. Lowest number of birds was recorded from Karuvatta and Thakazhi.
The survey was jointly organised by the Social Forestry wing of the Forest Department, Kottayam Nature Society, and Alappuzha Natural History Society. A total of 72 birders from across the State took part.
The Asian Waterbird Census is part of the global International Waterbird Census (IWC) carried out each January as a voluntary activity. The survey would help understand the changes to wetland systems, change in migratory pattern of birds, and impact of climate change. The information gathered during the survey would be used to promote the designation and management of protected areas, Ramsar Sites, Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), and so on.

Cold spell worries for Eravikulam park

Giji K. Raman, Idukki
The Hindu, January, 13, 2019

The cold wave that began on January 1 has not only affected tea plantations in Munnar but also the grasslands of the Eravikulam National Park (ENP), the natural habitat of the Nilgiri tahr.
The upper reaches of Munnar have been experiencing temperatures below 00 C since the start of the month, which is unusual, and mercury dropped to -40 C after a decade in the region. Munnar Wildlife Warden Lakshmi R. told The Hindu on Saturday that vast areas of grasslands in the ENP had dried up.
She said it was a matter of concern as the area would turn fire-prone well before the drought season. She said Pampadumchola was experiencing sub-zero temperature continuously and mercury dropped to -40 C there.

Widespread damage

“Normally, temperature will rise after one or two days and the damage to the flora will be limited. However, this time the damage is widespread,” she said adding a field study would be conducted to analyse the effect of climate change in the region. Rajamala, one of the main areas where neelakurinji blossomed last year after 12 years, was inside the ENP. The August floods had damaged buds and flowers and its effect would also be studied, she added.
The germination period of neelakurinji had just started and it was being analysed to learn the effect of the floods on the flora. The changes in climate conditions were clearly evident in the Western Ghats as its eastern side formed part of rain shadow areas.
Ms. Lakshmi said controlled burning had already been done on 600 hectares of grasslands and new tender grass appeared with the winter season. It might not immediately cause any shortage of fodder for the fauna, including the Nilgiri tahr, she said. However, a drought situation much before the advent of the summer season raised concerns of wildfires. If the situation continued, fodder could be in short supply too, she added.
The changes in the climatic conditions and its effect on the flora and fauna would be studied and recorded for management purposes, she added.

Battling the invasion of Vellayani Lake by invasive plant species

S.R. Praveen, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
The Hindu, January 13, 2019

When dancer Daksha Sheth came back to her home in Vellayani in October last year, after being away for a couple of months, she could not believe her eyes. The crystal clear water of Vellayani Lake near her home was nowhere to be seen. All she could see was a carpet of green water weeds, interspersed with purple plants.
Though invasive species has been a problem at Vellayani Lake for some years, the pace of this takeover was something new. Around the same time, Dave Ojay, a Kenyan student at the Kanthari International Institute for Social Change situated at the lake bank also talked about the problem at the institute.

Mobilising people

“Dave was involved with a movement to save Lake Victoria back home in Kenya. He found the same problem in Vellayani. He told us that the lake will be dead if we don’t do something now. He initiated a movement, gathered people and started cleaning the lake. Since then, we have been trying to mobilise people and have cleaned the lake at least every weekend,” says T.Ajith Kumar, Administration Manager at Kanthari.

New species

While water hyacinth has been a major problem for years, new exotic species like the purple coloured Cabomba caroliniana began spreading over the past decade.
According to a preliminary study conducted by the Department of Environment and Climate Change recently, other invasive species that have been noticed are Eichhornia Crassipes, Limnocharis Flava and Salvinia Molesta.
The purple-coloured Cabomba, which has spread considerably in recent months, is a native of North and South America.
It obstructs the free flow of water, gradually leading to stagnation and drying up of the lake.

Drinking water source

Vellayani Lake, the second largest freshwater lake in the State, is the source of drinking water for Kalliyoor and Venganoor grama panchayats.
“With silting on the lake bed and the constant pumping of water, the depth has reduced considerably. The shallow water allows these weeds to take root easily. A group of students have been helping us out in cleaning parts of the lake,” says Ms.Sheth.
Abhijith Nair, a young engineer, who has been part of the cleaning activities says that he has not seen such a rapid takeover by invasive plants all his life.
According to John C. Mathew, Environment Programme Manager, Department of Environment and Climate Change, the fine clay sediment and the nutrients from the agricultural fields nearby has led to the sudden spread of the invasive species. “Species like Cabomba, which were introduced to most of our wetlands from aquariums in recent years, spread quite rapidly.
“The only way to fight this is to manually uproot these plants,” he says

Action plan

The Wetland Authority has prepared a Management Action plan for these wetlands. The process for notifying them as per the Wetland Conservation and Management Rule of 2017 is currently on.
Once that is done, we can take conservation activities, for which we will get 50% Central funding.”

Winged visitors at Kuttanad

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor , Pathanamthitta
The Hindu, January 10, 2019

With winter setting in, the paddy fields of upper Kuttanad have started receiving winged guests from far-off places.
Majestic Greater Flamingos, spotted at Vaniyamkadavu in the Chennithala paddy fields, are among the avian guests this time around. Benny Ajantha, wildlife photographer and birdwatcher, filmed five Greater Flamingos at Vaniyamkadavu on Wednesday.
Hundreds of migratory birds reach the State to escape from the cold in the northern hemisphere.
Mr. Benny said group of Greater Flamingos included a juvenile too.
Hari Mavelikara, birdwatcher and district coordinator of the Bird Atlas project and bird monitoring activities, told The Hindu that the flamingos found in the country during December-January were on their breeding migration and their main concentration was in the Koonthankulam bird sanctuary, near Tirunelveli, in Tamil Nadu.
A large number of Northern Pin-tail, Garganey Ducks, and Little Ringed Plover were among the other migratory birds found at Vaniyamkadavu this year, he said.
Mr. Hari said the Greater Flamingos Phoenicopterus roseus were the most widespread of the six species of the Flamingo family. Their breeding migration extended towards Kazkhstan and Europe too. In India, they bred in the Rann of Kutch and were widespread winter visitors to the plains.

Rare in Kerala

The Greater Flamingos are rare visitors to Kerala. Two of them were spotted last year at Ezhupunna and a few in the Kole fields of Thrissur earlier. Mr. Hari said Black tailed Godwit, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Little-ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Pacific Golden Plover, Little Stint, Temmink’s Stint, Western Yellow Wagtail, Barn Swallow, Greater Spotted Eagle, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Ruff Northern Shoveler, Whiskered Tern, Small Pratincole, and Oriental Pratincole were the other migratory birds that visited upper Kuttanad during December-January to return in February every year.

Wild guests start migration

E.M. Manoj. Kalpetta
The Hindu, January 8, 2018

With the rise in mercury in the Nilgiri Biosphere, the seasonal migration of wild animals from wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) has begun.
Mammals such as elephants and gaurs migrate to the sanctuary from the adjacent Bandipur and Nagarhole national parks in Karnataka and the Mudumalai national park in Tamil Nadu in search of food and water.

Haven

“The WWS is a haven for migrating wild animals during summer owing to easy availability of fodder and water.
We have made highly structured measures at nearly ₹1 crore to ensure fodder, water and protection for the migrating wild guests,” N.T. Sajan, wildlife warden of the sanctuary, told The Hindu.

Early start

Though the wildlife migration has started a little early this year, man-animal conflict is comparatively very low on the fringes of the sanctuary, Mr. Sajan said, adding that no case of lifting of domestic animals by predators such as tiger or leopard has been reported so far.
Mr. Sajan said water sources in the sanctuary, including 30 earthen bunds, 45 check-dams and 235 waterholes, have been closely monitored with GPS every week to ensure drinking water for the wildlife.
“Though water scarcity has not affected the sanctuary till now, around 150 temporary check-dams are being built with dried bamboo poles inside the WWS, especially in the Tholpetty forest range, where streams may dry up during summer,” he added.
As part of fodder management, around 300 hectares of coarse grasslands have been trimmed to grow soft grass.

Fire line

Fire line has been erected along 230 km on the forest fringes to prevent wildfire. Apart from 25 permanent anti-poaching camps and five watch towers at important strategic points, 12 new treetop machans (temporary watchtowers) will start functioning in a week.
Forest officials, including guards and watchers, have been deployed there to keep watch over poaching and wildfire.
As many as 340 watchers have been deployed inside the sanctuary, including 290 fire watchers and 50 anti-poaching watchers, with essential equipment and wireless sets.

Presence of invasive mussel confirmed in Kochi backwaters

Aathira Perinchery, Kochi
The Hindu, January 03, 2019

From clambering lantana plants to karimeen-like red-bellied paku, invasive species come in all sizes. The latest addition to Kerala’s invasives list is only around a centimetre or two long: scientists have confirmed the presence of the invasive black-striped mussel Mytilopsis sallei in Kochi’s backwaters.

'Alien' mussel

In a study published on December 25 in the scientific journal Current Science, researchers at the Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) used basic genetic methods to confirm the identity of mussels they collected from Cochin harbour and Ezhupunna in Alappuzha. They extracted DNA from these mussels. While running this through an international online database, they matched it to the DNA of mussels observed from the Lam Tsuen River in Hong Kong (China), confirming that it is the same species that is now found in Kochi’s backwaters.
The black-striped mussell, native to the South and Central Americas, is an invasive species in most parts of the world and has been recorded from countries including Hong Kong, Australia and Japan. In India, it has been recorded from the ports of Mumbai (Maharashtra) and Vishakapatnam (Andhra Pradesh). It spreads primarily through the discharge of ballast waters of ships (seawater carried in the ballast tanks of ships to improve its stability and balance). The fast-growing species – which dwells in shallow water – can tolerate a wide variety of environmental conditions (salinity, water temperatures and oxygen levels; tests in the laboratory confirmed this again), which helps them thrive in the new areas they colonise.
The researchers estimate that one square metre near Fort Kochi (from where they collected some of the mussel samples) contains as many as 748 individuals. This is extremely high, said Dr. Bijoy Nandan, professor at Cusat’s Department of Marine Biology and one of the scientists who conducted the study.

Several costs

Though tiny, these invasive mussels are ‘biofoulers’, he added: organisms that accumulate on wet surfaces, causing huge ecological and economic losses. They can cause the deterioration of coastal infrastructure; the Australian government, for instance, spent approximately US$ 2.2 million to eradicate Mytilopsis mussels from Darwin Harbour. The mussels can also displace native species of clams (which local fishermen depend on for their livelihood) from their coastal habitats and cause a reduction in native biodiversity. Now the mussels can be spotted along most of Kerala’s coastline, added Dr. Nandan.
“We do not know what other problems could occur if these black-striped mussels proliferate,” said Dr. Nandan. “Or if changing climates could be enhancing their survival in any way. Our molluscan resources are extremely under-studied and we need more research to address these gaps.”
If their numbers grow, harvesting the mussels for use as poultry feed or manure could be a possible management tool, he said.

Exotic trees eating up Western Ghat’s grasslands

Aathira Perinchery, Kochi
The Hindu, January 3, 2019

The new year heralds bad news for the high-altitude grasslands of the Western Ghats. Over four decades, the country lost almost one-fourth of these grasslands and exotic invasive trees are primarily to blame, find scientists. Though grassland afforestation using pine, acacia and eucalyptus ceased in 1996, the exotics still invade these ecosystems, confirms a study published on January 2 in the international journal Biological Conservation.
When satellite images revealed to a team including scientists from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER, Tirupati) grassland loss in Tamil Nadu’s Palani hills in early 2018, they decided to study how shola-grasslands (characterised by patches of stunted evergreen shola trees in the valleys and grasslands on hill slopes) across the Ghats – from the Baba Budan Hills in Karnataka to Tamil Nadu's Ashambu Hills – changed in extent between 1972 and 2017. The satellite images they accessed reveal that 60% of the shola-grassland landscape has changed; almost 40% (516 km2) of native high-elevation grasslands have disappeared.
Most of this loss occurred on the mountain tops of the Nilgiri, Palani and Anamalai hill ranges, which comprise more than half of the Ghat’s shola-grassland ecosystems, primarily due to the expansion of exotic trees (pine, acacia and eucalyptus). Even though no plantations were established between 2003 and 2017, invasion by existing trees increased areas under exotic plantations by 27% in the Palanis and 17% in the Nilgiris. Broadly, shola-grassland ecosystems in Tamil Nadu showed the highest rates of invasion. The researchers also visited 840 locations across the Ghats to confirm these changes. Despite this, there’s some good news: shola forests have remained “relatively unchanged” over these years. The Anamalai-Munnar areas have also remained stable during this time.

‘Little research focus’

However, all possible efforts must be made to conserve the remaining grassland tracts, said scientist Dr. Robin V. Vijayan (IISER Tirupati), one of the authors who led the study. “There is very little research focus on grasslands and mechanisms to restore them are also few, unlike forests,” he added.
“The immediate reaction would be to remove all exotics including mature plantations from grasslands but that should not be done,” said Godwin Vasanth Bosco, who has restored some grassland patches in Udhagamandalam.

State may have to redraw CZMP now

K.S. Sudhi, Kochi
Tht Hindu, January 02, 2019

After the laborious preparation of the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP), which will influence development activities in coastal districts, coastal States, including Kerala, may now have to redraw the document following the notification of a new Coastal Regulation Zone approved by the Centre.
The Central government last week approved the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification, 2018 when the CZMP prepared by Kerala was awaiting approval.
The preparation of the CZMP, which once approved, will dictate the development patterns along the coast, was a long-drawn affair and it took several nudging from the National Green Tribunal and the Supreme Court for the States to prepare the document.
The Kerala document took almost three years to be prepared after a series of deliberations involving stakeholders, including coastal ecosystem management specialists, builders, fishermen, and coastal communities.
The National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, was assigned the task of preparing the document.
The public hearing organised on the draft document had witnessed unruly scenes and protests in some districts.
The CRZ 2018 notification, said Veena Madhavan, member secretary of the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority, was approved soon after the State submitted the CZMP for its 10 coastal districts. After the CRZ notification, 2018, being published as a gazette notification, Kerala may have to revise the document, she said.
She said the procedures to be followed for the revision would be known only when the gazette notification was published. There would also be a guideline for the States to follow.
At the same time, experts involved in the preparation of the earlier CZMP said Kerala may have to introduce changes in the CRZ 3 A category, which deals with panchayats having population density of 2,161 per sq km.
According to available information, the No Development Zone (NDZ) has been reduced to 50 metres from the High Tide Line against the earlier 200 metres in CRZ 3 A, permitting more construction towards the seaward side. The NDZ has also been reduced for backwater islands in CRZ 3, which also have to be reflected in the CZMP, said K.K. Ramachandran, former member secretary of the authority.
There may not be any changes in the CRZ categories 1, 2 and 4, he added.