Breathe life to Lake Vembanad

Enjoy the views of the boathouse on the Vembanad Lake in Alabzha. |Picture source: Hindu

vEmbanad is the longest lake in India and the largest in Kerala, and is taking a breath. The 96.5 km long body of water spans the areas of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam and forms part of the Vembanad-Kol Wetland System, the Ramsar site. Six major rivers enter the lake, which accounts for about 30% of the state’s total surface water resources.

Experts say the lake has shrunk significantly over the past century due to human-induced interventions, land reclamation and natural sedimentation. Although crucial to the ecology and agriculture of the region, it faces serious threats from pollution, eutrophication, unsustainable agricultural practices and invasive weed proliferation.

A few years ago, a study by Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies showed that the lake’s content of plastic waste, silt and other sediments was alarming. According to part of the Vembanad Lake Rejuvenation Project, an ambitious joint effort of the administration of the Alappuzha area and an ambitious joint effort of local self-service government departments, the lake’s surface area has shrunk due to land encroachment, which is the latest report by the expert committee. The report cites previous research, noting that the lake area decreased by 27% between 1917 and 1990. Not only is the region significantly reduced, but it also greatly reduces the lake’s flood retention capacity and damages its critical ecosystem services, including water purification, biological factor support and sediment transport. This situation is further exacerbated by the untied proliferation of water hyacinths, resulting in dangerous high levels of chemical and bio-oxygen demand. As a result, fish catch has dropped by about 66% over the past three decades.

Alex Varghese, a collector of the Alapaza region, led efforts to restore the lake. The initiative draws on the inspiration of the Namami Gunger Project. It gained momentum when it focused on solving the challenges of restoring water bodies at a workshop on October 28, 2024. Eight subcommittees are composed – agriculture, fisheries, water resources, tourism, biodiversity, environment and sanitation, disaster management and climate change, and income. A comprehensive five-year plan of Rs 18825 crore was developed and recently submitted to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Revisions can be made based on detailed studies on water resources and irrigation projects conducted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management.

Short-term goals include removing plastic waste, building biological screens to protect farmland, eliminating fish, eliminating weeds, and building 31 Bio Bunds, each of 31 Grama Panchayats 1 km long. Long-term goals include digging a lake bed to increase its moisture content, promoting organic agriculture to prevent pesticides and chemical pollution, protecting flora and fauna, establishing sewage and manure sludge treatment plants in flooded Kuttanad, thus producing value-added products from the water, resulting in water-style products from the water, and creating a tide of boostthth and boost the therth and boost tool torist and furs trulist and facrallist anfort anfort anfort anfort.

Although the report is under the consideration of the state government, 28.72 tons of plastic waste and more water hyacinths were removed from the lake in a giant cleaning drive recently under the Aegis government of the Alabzha region.

Restoring the resilience of lakes is essential to strengthen the resilience of the region to climate change impacts, such as unstable rainfall, sea level rise and exacerbated flood events. However, it is easier said than done. For example, boathouses are one of the largest sources of pollution in lakes. While the report requires strict laws on unauthorized vessels, previous efforts to control illegal boathouse operations are largely ineffective. Another major obstacle is land encroachment. The report of the Expert Committee noted that the retraction of the encroachment area “requires strong political support and decisive action”. Since Kuttanad is part of the Vembanad wetland ecosystem, the restoration of the lake should be related to the revival of the entire Kuttanad region.

Coordination and collaboration among various stakeholders, including local communities, regional governments and different levels of governance, will be key to overcoming these complex challenges and require support from coalitions and state governments.