PAYYANUR, 22 March 2008 — As Kerala’s Malabar region prepares to emerge big on the world’s tourism map, its biggest water body is facing threat of destruction thanks to insensitive construction activities.
The Kavvayi Kayal, the backwaters spread over 31.92 square kilometers making it the third largest in Kerala after Vembanadu and Ashtamudi, needs to get protected like its southern cousins under the Ramsar Convention, the international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands of international importance.
Separated by a sandbar, the Kavvayi Kayal, which lies parallel to the seacoast for a distance of 21 km is home to 42 species of mangrove plants, 60 varieties of birds and 39 fish and shellfish species.
“Ashtamudi, Vembanad and Shasthamkotta lakes were declared Ramsar sites in 2002. By then, the tourism boom had its toll on their fragile ecosystem. We want the government to take measures to see to it that it’s not happening here,” said G.D. Nair, chairperson of the Payyanur Municipality.
There cannot be progressive encroachment on a declared Ramsar site and steps are taken to prevent loss of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific and recreational values.
The inspiring stretch of water body is already being promoted by the Kerala Tourism as the “most fascinating destination among the backwaters in Kerala that could easily make you fall in love with it.”
The Kavvayi backwaters is the result of the several rivers, river Kavvayi and its tributary streams of Kankol, Vannathichal, Kuppithodu and Kuniyan, Neeleshwaram, Tejaswini, Erppe, Perumba and Ramapuram — all flowing from the east into its lap before joining the Arabian Sea.
“We have already recommended to the federal tourism ministry to adopt measures to protect the unique ecosystem and to prevent large-scale construction activities,” Nair said.
“We are also planning to conduct an awareness campaign among the local community. The municipal corporation will ensure that state government’s responsible tourism rules are strictly adhered to while developing tourist resorts here.” At Ezhimala, on the banks of the Kavvayi backwaters, Indian Navy is building its largest facility to train cadets, which is billed as the largest in Asia too. Resorts developers have purchased most of the small islands realizing the potential of the region where Kerala’s fourth international airport is coming up.
“In some areas, the width of the sandbar is just 50 meters. So it’s a fragile area that needs to be protected by preserving mangroves,” said environment activist Surendran. “Small islands in the backwaters are named after kadu (forest) that indicates abundance of mangrove forests in the past. The shape of these islands is indicative of the past fluvial patterns.”
Kavvayi, the small island near Payyannur town, used to be the headquarters of a 313-square-kilometer taluk which housed a large port and a magistrate court during the British East India Company rule. Travelers like Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and Abdul Fida have mentioned that.
“There are more than two species of birds found associated with this brackish water and migratory birds arrive here every year. Most of them are winter visitors from far-flung regions like Siberia,” Surendran said.
According to Professor M. Jayarajan of Science and Environmental Studies Kerala (SEEK), who conducted extensive studies on the socio-cultural and ecological environment of the region, there are 68 sacred kavus (groves) in the midland of Kavvayi river basin and some of them are large and conspicuous.
“There are 246 species of macro flora from 83 families, 117 species of butterflies, eight species of spiders, 11 species of amphibians, 23 species of reptiles, 178 species of birds and 24 species of mammals.”
“The major problem is the concentration of development activities in the low-land region. The process of urbanization here is rapid,” he says.
Tourism Meet Begins
More than 500 delegates from the travel and tourism industry, academia and media personnel gathered at the Second International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations in Kochi yesterday.
Experts from more than 25 countries are participating in the four-day conclave. They will speak about their initiatives to make local communities, tourists and the industry responsible for preserving “our world for future generations.” The speakers have expressed hope that these destinations would be carbon free within the next ten years. The first edition of the conference was held in Cape Town in 2002.
According to the organizers, some 65 speakers will also discuss issues such as local economic development and poverty reduction, taking responsibility for destination sustainability, travel philanthropy and the role of the government.
Professor Harold Goodwin of International Center for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Metropolitan University said the conference would adopt the “Kerala Declaration on Responsible Tourism” at the concluding session on Monday. “Several issues and themes will emerge during the next days and these will be open for panel discussion on the final day of the conference. Delegates’ conclusions and summations will be followed by the drafting of the Kerala Declaration,” he said.
Tourism is one of the largest industries in the world today responsible for employing more than 200 million people and generating over 10 percent of the global GDP. It is a major contributor to the state’s economy generating an annual income of some Rs.115 billion.
Kerala Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said it was pride for the state to host the event.
Cochin Airport
The 3.4-km runway of the Cochin International Airport at Nedumbassery will be closed everyday between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. for six months from November to complete re-carpeting work.
Once the day’s work is over, the runway would be opened for operations from 8 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next day. Most of the domestic flights are landing at the airport during the daytime while international flights mostly arrive at night.
“We have already given advance notice to all operating airlines and other concerned agencies and have requested them to reschedule their flights. All the operating airlines have assured their cooperation,” Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) Managing Director S. Bharat said.
The corporate airport, in which the state government is the single largest stakeholder, accounts for nearly half of the total aircraft movement in and out of Kerala thanks to huge Gulf-bound migrant workers.
“The runaway has been performing satisfactorily all these years and would be completing nine years of operations in June this year. To ensure continued and satisfactory performance of runway, it needs to be re-carpeted for the full length.”
