From restoring mangroves to fighting off worm poachers, people living around Pulicat lake in Tamil Nadu have been making efforts over years to save their wetlands and their livelihoods.Meerasa, who lives in Jameelabad near the lake, has been involved in conservation of the lake and raising awareness about the ecosystem for almost two decades now.The region faces a looming threat from the Kattupalli mega port expansion plan that could severely impact the wetland, its mangroves and marine life and result in displacement and loss of livelihood of many fishing families dependent on Pulicat lake. Meerasa’s story is one of displacement. The son of a boat maker and a resident of Dhonirevu (Karimanal island), one of many villages around the Pulicat lake, Meerasa and his parents were evicted from their home in 1985 during ISRO’s Sriharikota expansion. Meerasa now lives in Jameelabad and has worked in conservation since he graduated from school. But with industrial expansion around Pulicat lake threatening the land and the mangrove forests that surround them, Meerasa fears that history might be repeating itself. About 50 km north of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is Pulicat lake, the second largest brackish water ecosystem in India. Known as Pazhaverkadu, meaning “forest of the rooted fruit”, Pulicat lake was once covered by dense mangrove trees. But over the centuries — from mangroves being hacked for the construction of the Dutch fort in the 1600s, to the gradual clearing of forests owing to spreading urbanisation and industrial expansion — the mangroves of Pulicat have now been reduced to sporadic patches along the coast. And the mangrove destruction for industrial expansions have both severely affected biodiversity and endangered the livelihood of the fisherfolk who depend on the mangrove ecosystem. “Around 1,200 families are completely dependent on the mangroves for their income. They make between 100 to 300 rupees a day during the summer season, and 1,500 to 2000 rupees a day during the monsoon season.” Meerasa says. “Fishing that involves tiger prawns and mud crabs are very lucrative, with a kilo of mud crabs costing as much as 1,500 rupees and tiger prawns costing about 1,200 rupees. Both the tiger prawns and mud crabs need the mangroves to thrive. They provide them with shade as well as feed in the form of falling leaves, and are critical to the livelihood of the fishing communities.” Meerasa says. Pulicat Lake is the second largest brackish water ecosystem in India. Map from Datawrapper. The mangroves have many uses, for starters, many marine species use them as nurseries during the early stage of their lives. The mangrove tree shedding, along with the accumulation of bacteria, provides young marine life with plenty of food, as well as a thick refuge to hide from larger animals. “The Pulicat lagoon ecosystem is highly threatened by natural and anthropogenic factors. Over the years, the mangrove species diversity has significantly reduced, thereby threatening many microniches of a range of fauna that use these habitats as nurseries. Some noteworthy species that breed in mangroves are flathead mullet, the iconic edible oyster Crassostrea madrasensis and Brachyuran crabs.” says Riddhika Ramesh, a scientist at the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 2007, fisheries lose about 480 kg in annual production for every hectare of forest that is destroyed. The mangroves, while acting as nurseries, preserve the fish stock in the long term, ensuring a reliable source of income for the people who depend on it. Mangroves also provide the community with timber, have enabled ecotourism, and protect the coasts from flooding. “Many waterlogged muddy areas of mangrove habitat are now transformed to vast arid areas which are dominated by invasive plant species Prosopis juliflora and Casuarina equisetifolia along the fringes of the lagoon. With increasing aridity from reduced rainfall and rise in summer temperature, reduced seawater exchange in the northern part of the lagoon and hypersaline conditions of the lake has made restoration of mangrove species challenging. It is because of this highly complex process that we are losing the biological integrity of a brackish water lagoon system.” Ramesh says. Restored mangroves in Pulicat. These habitats have now been reduced to sporadic patches along Pulicat’s coast. Photo from Meerasa. Yuvan Aves, a naturalist and educator says the wetlands of Pulicat are important because of the mosaic of different ecologies that can be found here. The Kosasthalai, Arani, and Kalangi rivers that empty into this lagoon make it possible for riverine floodplains, tidal flats, salt pans, mangroves, tropical dry evergreen forests, backwaters, coastal sand dunes, sandy beaches and the large Pulicat ecosystem itself to exist. He goes on to add that the mangroves of Pulicat lake also acts as a natural buffer against floods. “The bioregion is Chennai’s largest flood catchment area and cyclonic buffer zone, for a city that’s constantly frequented by cyclones, it’s important that this land is preserved,” Aves says. “The Kattupalli megaport expansion will also put one-forth of Chennai’s drinking water that comes from the wellfields and other sources at risk, and would put over 10 lakh people under serious water stress.”
