KOCHI: It was the 2018 flood that opened Kerala’s eyes to the flaws in managing and preserving water bodies. Many rivers and canals that used to be the epicentre of farming and daily life - providing clean and safe drinking water to hundreds and irrigating fields along their trajectories - have turned into garbage dumps that overflow and cause waterlogging year after year. The depleting water quality due to improper sewage management is another looming disaster. Parvathy Puthanar, Thettiyar, Amayizhanchan canal and many more in Thiruvananthapuram, Mullassery, Thevara-Perandoor and Rameswaram Canals in Kochi are just a few such water bodies that are depleting rapidly, even as governments claim to have spent hundreds of crores every year for their revival.
In 2007, when activist Arun Krishnamoorthy founded the Environmentalist Foundation of India, he aimed to preserve and maintain water bodies, increase local participation and create awareness about the dangers of mindless exploitation of rivers and canals. EFI’s principal focus has been adopting, scientifically reviving and ecologically restoring freshwater lakes and ponds across the country. So far, with the help of volunteers from across India, they have worked on 129 water bodies across 14 states.
Though the organisation’s extensive efforts have been in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, they have been initiating preservation campaigns in Kerala too. In 2018 December, EFI in association with the Thiruvananthapuram district collectorate organised a Lake Safari in which they took participants on a trip to some of the city’s notable and iconic water bodies. TNIE caught up with Arun to speak about Kerala’s struggle to save its waterbodies before it’s too late.
Over the last few years, you have worked extensively in helping Kerala’s local administration conserve water bodies including Karimadom pond. How was your experience?
EFI’s conservation efforts in Kerala began with community engagement activities in and around the Karimadom Colony Pond in Thiruvananthapuram in 2018. Seeking permission from the governing authorities was quite simple as the then-District Collector was very supportive and helpful of environmental conservation efforts. Whenever we visit a new site, it is important to understand the demography of the region and people’s mindset towards conservation. The residents of the Karimadom Colony and other regions were desperate to see a change in their environment, and that fire in them motivated us to do more for them.
Kerala is struggling with the lack of a proper waste management system and sewage networks. Most canals and rivers are stagnating with waste and creating recurring floods. What are the immediate and long term effects of this from your understanding?
From our understanding, the rivers and canals of Kerala play a vital role in the management of water in the state. A system that was built to perfection by our ancestors to combat drought, and ensure water stability. They carry in them stormwater, overflow water and form a sophisticated connection between various water bodies in a region.
But unfortunately over the years, modernisation and urbanisation have ruined them, triggering the abuse and exploitation of rivers and canals. This has led to several problems in the communities that reside near these systems; spread of water-borne diseases, lack of drinking water and more.
We must understand that rivers and canal systems are imperative in also ensuring the stability of the groundwater, which is right now in shambles all across the country.
What is the role of NGOs, student groups and civilian volunteers in preserving lakes and canals?
Talks about environmental issues in the recent past have been gaining momentum. But it is not at a level where it needs to be. We need to start talking about our canals and rivers more, we need to ensure our waste does not reach our neighbourhood streams.
Community participation is critical to a sustainable future. We should definitely take part in volunteering efforts in our neighbourhood lakes and ponds to maintain them. Collaboration for conservation also plays a huge role in protecting our environment. NGOs along with youth and the community can bring about a massive change in the environment and thereby make communities “water-literate”, thereby creating awareness.
Governmental interventions, especially with the pandemic, are delayed. What would you recommend on a local scale as immediate measures?
The Covid pandemic had truly caused a rather huge upset in our lives. Government officials across the nation have been working tirelessly to combat the spread of this deadly virus. Owing to the lockdown restrictions and regulations, several projects and activities had come to a halt. But there are other ways one can contribute to environmental conservation, right from their homes.
Following sustainable practices and spreading the word about them, setting up kitchen and terrace gardens, creating a compost out of kitchen waste, and effective segregation of waste are a few of the many measures that one can take up to protect the planet without travelling outside. What are your immediate plans for water bodies across south India? Where are the critical points?
Enhancing water security and water conservation must be taken seriously to ensure there is water available for future generations to come. The planet needs no saving, it’s the human race that needs to wake up to the real-time threat of climate change and volunteer towards combating the same.
With help from respective government authorities, E.F.I has taken on the ambitious task of restoring numerous water bodies across the states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Puducherry. Water bodies such as lakes, rivers, ponds, and coastal stretches are being taken into focus on a large level.
This year, on World Nature Conservation Day, we speak to the Environmentalist Foundation of India’s founder Arun Krishnamurthy about one of the biggest, yet underrated challenges ahead of Kerala - preserving our water bodies