The burning sea and the vanishing coast
Oamjie John
On the coastal situation, Oamjie
John in his ‘The burning sea and the vanishing coast’ describes how the
uncontrolled and unscientific measures applied to several developmental projects
all along the coast have in fact made a deep impact on the ecosystem of the sea
and the coastal environment. “The Kerala coast is, in effect, undergoing
unprecedented changes and has been facing acute ecological crisis over the past
five decades. Both natural and man-made causes are behind this crisis”, he
writes and draws attention to the rise in sea water temperatures causing fish
like Sardine and Mackerel of the Pelagic species to migrate either to other
areas or move to the bottom of the sea and threaten the livelihoods of fisher
folk. The article also deals with sea level rise. “Traditional paddy fields and
90,000 hectare shrimp/fish hatcheries will be completely ruined, endangering
job and food security of the people living along the Kerala coast. The
foundations of rural economy will be adversely affected, causing its complete destruction”,
he states.
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