Blog #1 within India: Case Studies of Environmental Problems, Referencing Dr. Narasimhan: Silent Valley and Narmada Dam

                Dr. Narasimhan, of the botany department of Madras Christian College, lectured on environmental problems in India.  He divided up environmental issues into four conflicting concepts, that through conflict create environmental problems.  These issues are incongruencie between 1) ecology and development 2) livelihood and development 3) population and resource management and 4) globalization and localization.  He also added pollution as a fifth environmental issue.   He summarized two case studies of particular environmental issues that highlight his defined conflicts of environmental issues.  Issues with Silent Valley National Park and Kerala’s electricity demand and Narmada Dam and population effects exemplify Dr. Narasimhan’s definition of environmental issues.

                Silent Valley National Park, located in Kerala in the South of India, is considered a hotspot of biodiversity.  A biodiversity ‘hotspot’ is generally defined as an area with over  500,000 species with 30% of its original habitat still in existence.   The National Park is located in the southern part of India’s Western Ghat mountain range.  The National Park was only created after Kerala attempted to build a hydorelectic dam to satiate Kerala’s growing energy demands.  The attempt to build the dam was met with two NGO’s outcry and protest and the spawn of pro-environmental social movement to protect the National Park.  The project was abandoned and national park status was given to the area.  The conflict of needs and priorities over the area is representative of Dr. Narasimhan’s list of conflicts that create environmental issues.

                Firstly and most obviously, conflicts between ecology and development resonate with Kerala’s proposed energy plan.   Such an old, unique, and fruitful ecosystem is a prime example of ecology as a priority in policy. The rainforest is over 50 million years old and hosts multiple endemic species.   If its intrinsic value and endemic life does not justify its protection, the ample ecological services its provides will.  Water, soil, and air quality are higher in areas in and around natural and old areas.  Also, medicinal plants and fungi can be found in these areas.  Also, such areas are hotbeds for academic research.  Conversely, Kerala’s development goals were only in attempt to provide more electricity to more people.  Rather than building or revamping a coal power plant, Kerala’s government initially decided to try a less air pollutant option:   Hydro-electric energy.  Hoping to provide Kerala with 120 MW of energy, Kerala began implementing the project.  Population growth and urbanization are two reasons for needed increased energy, signifying the conflict between population and resource use. Another of Dr. Narasimhan’s conflict is livelihood versus development.  An improved livelihood for Kerala’s population would include both increased number of people and area of land with access to electricity as well as improved infrastructure to handle higher energy demands of its population.  Improved infrastructure could handle higher energy demands from preexisting areas of electrical demands correlate with higher ‘luxury’ type energy demands.  In this way, higher electricity demands whether for necessity or luxury are still ‘livelihood’ priorities that conflict with development. 

                The second case study Dr. Narsimhan presented was the issue with the Narmada Dam.  This environmental issue was less focused on ecological issues—though still important in this issue, and more focused on direct negative impacts to human populations, specifically indigenous tribes and the rural poor surrounding the river basin.  The massive project sought to create 3,200 dams on the Narmada River and its subsequent finger rivers.  The project contains two large scale, multi-purpose dams.  Overall, the dam system sought to provide irrigation and drinking water for surrounding populations, both urban and rural.  In practice, the dam cost more money that was expected and flooded a higher area than expected.  More people were displaced than were expected.  The government wrote it off as an economic loss.  Some ecological issues were raised in the development project including interrupted fish migration patterns.  I see, out Dr. Narimhan’s conflicts, livelihood and development and population versus resource management as the largest issues within the dam.  Dr. Narimhan raised an interesting point, asking “Development for whom?”  The dam was designed to provide larger quantities of drinking water, but flooding more villages that intended prompts the developer to consider whose livelihood is being benefitted. 

                Both of these case studies focus on environment issues in the frame of choices.  Weighing the benefits and costs of projects must be considered from all perspectives to make appropriate decisions.  I enjoyed Dr. Narimhan’s dissection of environmental problems in India.  I think separating different interests from each other allows for objective decision making in projects.

Blog #2 within India: Estuaries and Wetlands related to Development and Livelihood

                Today, Dr. Samuel Sukumar lectured on estuaries and wetlands in India.  He discussed the ecological, economic, and social importance of estuaries.  Wetlands and estuaries offer numerous resources to be utilized and are often abused and left damaged.  Because of this, wetlands remain with a broken status in India.  Dr. Sukumar concluded his lecture by presenting his own data and conclusions on development’s effects on the wetlands and estuaries of Kaatuppalli Island.

                Estuaries are ecosystems in which rivers meet the ocean.  Within these ecosystems, great biodiversity thrives because of the wide range of abiotic factors that occur.  Dr. Sukumar defined a wetland as any surrounding area of an inland body of water.  With the ebbing tide, salinity and temperature change through a wide range during a day.  Therefore, the organisms living within the estuaries must be adapted to thrive within the entire range of abiotic factors.  Specifically, organisms must be adapted to accept or prevent salinity transfer between their bodies and the outside environment.  Not only is biodiversity great in estuaries because of unique evolutionary adaptations, but because of the abiotic factors are temporally hinged, species adapted to one end of the range or the other often are seen in estuaries.               

With estuaries abiotic factors providing a host of different aquatic species, fishing communities naturally depend on estuaries for their livelihood. With disruption of the estuary/wetland ecosystem,  biodiversity and number of fish populations will decrease.  As this occurs, whole fishing communities are left without an economic livelihood and are forced to relocate or turn to crime.  Also, the agricultural sector uses wetlands and the naturally saline surrounding waters of estuaries to grow rice paddies, which apparently thrive in slightly saline soils.  Thirdly, the industrial sector depends of estuaries as a water source to conduct chemical and mechanical processes.  The introduction of heavy metals into water systems can cause long term health effects.  Biomagnification is the process whereby toxic, heavy metals are ingested and stored in fat cells within organisms and increase in concentration as they pass through the food chain.  Ultimately, humans ingest heavy concentrations of heavy metals from fish and suffer health effects. 

Unfortunately, the industrial sector also utilizes the water supply as a landfill.  Dr. Sukuma also discussed developmental patterns on the trashed wetlands.  Industrial and commercial sectors relocate municipal solid waste to wetlands and water, as well.  Within rivers, municipal solid waste causes silting, or gradual decrease in depth of the river.  In effect, the trash clogs or fills up the inland water.  Then, governments relocate some slums onto the filled up areas and constructs huts.  The huts are supported by beams that stick into the ground.  This has occurred in several major cities, including Chennai.  Another misuse of wetlands and estuaries occurs in tangent with religious ceremonies.  People carry a giant statue of Ganesha , painted with toxic dyes, through the streets and submerge him into water.  The toxic dyes wash off and can disrupt the ecosystem.  In these ways wetlands and estuaries are disrupted despite their ecological, economic, and social importance.

Dr. Sukumar ended his lecture with several slides describing  his work on Kattuppali Island and the effects of industry on an otherwise pristine estuary/wetland ecosystem.  Kattuppali Island is manmade island just off the coast of Chennai, slightly north of Chennai Marina Beach.  The island was formed by the Buckingham canal.  The island is 25 square miles large.  The island was home to a small community of mostly fishermen, paddy farmers, and woodcutters dependent on the wide variety of wildlife (Brown 2000).  Recently, several industries and plants have moved to Kattuppali Island, and the island’s wildlife and water quality has suffered.  Subsequently, the population has moved off the island under the persuasion of large stacks of 500 rupee notes and false promises. 

Dr. Sukumar measured several biogical, chemical, and physical indicators of water quality.  Physical indicators included temperature, turbidity, and rate of flow.  Chemical indicators measured different pollutants including nitrates, phosphates, dissolved oxygen content, and dissolved organic carbon.  Biological indicators include macro-organism count and population count of various fish, crabs, and other organisms.  Rapid urbanization has worsened all indicators on Kattuppuli Island, according to Dr. Sukumar.

Adam Brown’s article “Defining Development: A Case Study on Kattapulli Island” discusses the effects of development on the people living within the island, and it connects the environmental impacts to humanity.  Development, through degradation of resources, creates an unfair domination of industry over tribal and poorer villages.  Dr. Sukumar’s talk briefly touched on these issues.  After the lecture, he explained that his wife had studied some of these villages and worked on tsunami relief programs with them.  He explained that between tsunami related problems and increasing ecological response to the growing industry, these people are forced to relocate.  This generates and reinforces classist activity.  Dr. Sukumar stated that several laws exist to prevent these relationships by stopping development that causes these ecological issues in the first place.  However, implementation and enforcement of these laws lags behind and allows these laws to continue.  I think as the overall wealth of the country continues to increase, enforcement of laws will increase.  Unfortunately through the process of development, degradation of the environment  and subsequent relocation of people who can’t afford to withstand the effects of development will continue to occur.