ANNOUNCEMENTS
Vembanad-Kol is an important coastal wetland complex present in Kerala. It provides livelihoods to 90,000 farmers, 12,000 clam collector households, 64 fishing villages and 0.2 million households depending on tourism. It helps in adapting to climate change by providing flood protection to important cities like Kochi, Ernakulam, Thrissur, and Alappuzha. A study was conducted to assess the threats to climate adaptation provided by VKW by studying the extent of change, drivers of change and loss in ability to buffer floods. It was observed that wetland loss and degradation has occurred which is visible from increase in built-up within and outside wetland between 1988-2023. There has been a decline in agriculture, fisheries, clam production and increase in pollution, flooding instances in the region. The drivers of change which had led to wetland loss and degradation were identified and mapped. A shift in rainfall from SW to NE monsoon was observed over the past 50 years corresponding with an increase in flood frequency between 2001-2021. The increased rainfall and flooding had led to increase in water spread area within VKW but an increase in built-up has reduced the ability of wetland to buffer floods. The vulnerability of VKW to climate change was also estimated to show that the wetland is under threat in the future also. An effective wetland management will help maintain the ecological character of VKW and aid in wetland wise-use. Wetland wise-use helps reduce exposure and sensitivity to extreme hazards and help improve adaptive capacity thereby building resilience for the community surrounding the wetland.
Keywords: Vembanad-Kol wetland, climate adaptation, flood buffering, integrated wetland management plan.
