ATREE at Vembanad
ATREE started a Community Environmental Resource Centre (CERC) in Vembanad in order to address the environmental concerns considering the impacts on livelihoods and ecology. The CERC was conceived as a space to build capacities for research and application, environmental governance and capacity building in the region. The CERC provides local communities and other stakeholders the opportunity to engage with researchers, and for researchers to engage with communities, to prioritize action that is relevant to communities and to the sustainability of the socio-ecological landscapes.
Important Stakeholders at Vembanad
Lake dependent communities include the following:
- Business communities: fishermen, shopkeepers, hotels and farmers
- Youth: Schools, teachers and students
- Local Institutions: Panchayats, NGOs and elected representatives in community
- Wildlife: Fish, birds and other habitat dependent species
Areas of Interface
ATREE is committed to three areas of local interface that are expected to produce positive results in the form of action in environmental governance, research and capacity building.
Environmental Governance
ATREE drafted a notification on ‘Regulatory Framework for Conservation of Wetlands’ in order to notify the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of components in the document that could be strengthened. This is in response to the overwhelming information about the importance of wetlands and their necessary conservation.
A workshop was organized to integrate local governement panchayats and conservation principles. ATREE worked with Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to bring community leaders together, resulting in local panchayats providing feedback that helped identify hurdles in executing and accomplishing applicable laws.
Research
In May 2008 and 2009, ATREE initiated a Vembanad fish count in order to educate and facilitate awareness in the community. The event was co-organized by Kerala State Biodiversity Board, Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS) of the Kerala Agricultural University, Vembanad Nature Club and various Lake Protection Forums of the fisher-folk. Two fish counts have been conducted to survey the species living in the lake. This survey achieved desired results, in that it gave wider attention to the lake’s health and the organisms that reside there.
A new study is underway to pinpoint special relationships between health and water quality. The Land, Water and Livelihoods program is beginning a two-year research project to build a GIS layer to identify areas of concern. This layer will make connections between the hydrological cycle and the distribution of pollution. The study includes discussions with the community including, student surveys, doctors, residents, and panchayats to identify known cases of disease. Data will be collected from hospitals and households where water-borne diseases are prevalent and correlated with LWL data. Eight sampling points have been determined for physical and biological water quality testing. These points are in heavily populated areas around patty fields and under seven panchayats.
Water quality awareness
ATREE began a program to educate and create awareness in water quality and health. The program called Jaladarpanam consists of basin-stations where the community can participate in water quality testing and observation.
Conservation education in schools
Fifty schools, 46 grade schools and 4 universities are part of an education program called Jalapaadom that focuses on Vembanad Lake ecology. Students receive 67 lessons in the year on the lake’s ecosystem. Teachers participate in workshops to prepare them for the program sequence and are given a manual to use as they guide students through the program. Each year students are encouraged to work on a research project of their choice that involves the lake. Students will present their research project in January 2011. Students also participate in wetland festivals, summer camps and workshops to educate them on wildlife and the local ecosystem.
Fish sanctuaries
CERC-ATREE constituted fish sanctuaries, encouraging the community to be involved in the construction and initiation. Communication between fishermen, other stakeholders and ATREE researchers helped rouse the opportunity to create a solution to maintaining fish habitats for spawning. After investigation, researches concluded that a community ritual called “Ayliam-makom days” had scientific basis.
"The traditional fishermen adopted an old ritual of worshipping fish and shellfish on "Ayliam-makom days" which was in fact found to have a more scientific reason than blind belief. On these two days, fishermen and women worship in temples for the benefit of fishes and shell- fishes in the lake. They bring back the offerings like seeds to spread in the lake with prayer that the fish population may prosper and provide them for another year. The ecological significance of this ritual is that it coincides with two days most important for spawning."
Dr. Latha Bhaskar "Fishing a new perspective"
These two-way conversations have helped establish resourceful relationships as well as constructive improvement.
- Future plans-set up more sanctuaries, give more responsibility to federations, teach fishermen (chief stakeholders)
- Reviving traditional knowledge and rituals that contributes to conservation as well as preserving cultural practices.
Podasagaram is a workshop that educates farmers on biopesticides. Farmers observed demonstrations and information on tricho cards with healthy pests to rid destructive pests to attach to banana leaves, as an alternative to toxic pesticides. Four blocks of rice paddy fields were chosen for an experimental trial and with success, plans to spread it to larger areas are now in the works.