KOCHI: There is a revolution raging all over the world. From Extinction Rebellion activists taking to the streets in the UK to Greta Thunberg’s ‘Climate Strike’, quite a lot is happening across the globe.
When the climate change combat gets louder, the reverberations are heard back home too. Greens in Kochi think it’s high time we did something to save Kochi’s lone green patch, Mangalavanam, which is facing an extinction threat.A small patch of vegetation consisting primarily of mangroves, Mangalavanam, sprawling over 2.74 hectares, is being stifled by increasing urban cover around it. Home to many species of migratory birds, the green cover of Mangalavanam is on the wane, thanks to reckless construction and callous attitude of authorities.
Polluted water body
According to Prabhu P M, assistant conservator of forest, sewage from the buildings around Mangalavanam, including the High Court, reaches the bird sanctuary, which is harmful to the thousands of species dependent on the green patch.“Mangalavanam has a thick urban cover, including huge buildings and hotels. The presence of so many constructions around the green patch, marked as an eco-sensitive area, puts so much pressure on the sanctuary. The sewage canal only worsens the situation. Unless the authorities, including the Kochi corporation, take sewage treatment seriously, Mangalavanam will see its flora and fauna dwindling at a rapid rate,” adds Prabhu who made a documentary on Mangalavanam and its plight for the Social Forestry Department.
Though the issue was bought before the corporation, nothing much came out of it. The civic body did take up a project to clean up the water body, but it was dropped midway. This will only get worse, thinks Prabhu. According to the officer, the mangroves, which make up for most of Mangalavanam, were destroyed en mass during the past 50-30 years for the construction of Marine Drive and Container Road.
“The mangrove growth lost its continuity during the construction of Container Road. The damage it did to the ecology is unfathomable,” he adds.
Avians hit
The effects urbanisation has on Mangalavanam are proving detrimental to the migrant bird population too. A survey conducted at Mangalavanam Bird Sanctuary in November 2009 concluded that 34 species and 119 individual birds were sighted, which included eight long-distant migratory birds. The study also threw up alarming facts like the predominance of crows, indicating poor urban cleanliness and health. Vishnupriyan Kartha, secretary, Cochin Natural History Society, says the buildings which come up near Mangalavanam can hinder the path of migratory birds.
“Mangalavanam is a bird sanctuary because it provided a natural habitat with its free flow of water and biodiversity. But, the increasing noise pollution, due to its proximity to the city, and the presence of silt and effluents in the water body is doing damage. This is besides the plastic pollution. Unless steps are taken to conserve the shallow water body, the migrant and resident avian population will be hit,” says Vishnupriyan.
He adds that any plan to change the land use pattern will also affect Mangalavanam. “The presence of Ernakulam Old Railway Station is a matter of concern. Any development project undertaken there will spell doom for Mangalavanam,” says Vishnupriyan.
Move against ban
The National Green Tribunal had issued a ban on construction activities inside Mangalavanam. However, the Railways has approached the Supreme Court seeking to lift the ban so that it can move ahead with the renovation of the rail route from Edappally station to the old railway station. The apex court recently sent a notice to the state government asking for its views in this regard.