THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: People living in coastal regions are struggling with sea erosion and pollution caused by developmental activities that are undertaken without proper oceanic studies. To create awareness about responsible behaviour towards the ocean and its resources, city-based Coastal Students Cultural Forum is conducting a bi-weekly literary programme for students.
The programme titled ‘Kadalkoodam’ strives to create awareness among future generations to work towards conserving the ocean and impart the knowledge that traditional fishermen have about the sea to the next generation.
“Though Kerala is said to be a 100 per cent literate state, we are behind others when it comes to ocean literacy. This makes it difficult to find a permanent solution while dealing with calamities caused due to sea erosion. There have been instances where fishermen communities have been sidelined. To sensitise the public about the need to conserve the ocean and also introduce it to the school curriculum, we thought of launching the Kadalkoodam initiative,” says Vipin Das, secretary of the forum.
The project was launched in 2018 August and the forum conducted a few sessions where traditional fishermen-turned marine educators share their daily-life experiences with students. “This reveals the science, technology and social science behind their livelihood. We relaunched the initiative recently after a break induced by the pandemic. About 20 college students got together to understand the ocean and its resources from the traditional fishers in our last session,” adds Vipin.
The ocean literacy programme also documents the knowledge the coastal communities have about the sea and its resources. “The bi-weekly programme is being documented in both audio and video formats to bring it to the attention of the policymakers. Our aim is to include ocean studies in school curriculum. Due to our efforts, Mahatma Gandhi University has also introduced a course on ocean literacy,” says Vipin.
Studying oceans
Ocean literacy programme strives to document the knowledge the coastal communities have about the sea and its resources
Due to the efforts of Kadalkoodam initiative, MG University has introduced a course on ocean literacy