Nod from Centre awaited for ₹1.18-crore project spread over five years

Amid mounting concern over the dwindling wetlands in Kerala, the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences is gearing up for a long-term project to understand the impact of climate change on the unique ecosystem and prepare a mitigation strategy and conservation plan for threatened aquatic species.

The institute is awaiting the green signal from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change for a ₹1.18-crore project spread over five years.

The long-term monitoring project seeks to generate data on the wetlands of Kerala and the large number of plant species in the habitat, identify threatened species and develop a vulnerability map for different species based on climate change predictions for the State. This would be followed by a conservation plan for aquatic biodiversity to be implemented with public participation, says R. Prakashkumar, Director, MBGIPS, and co-investigator of the project.

Explaining the rationale of the project, he said, “Much of the wetlands and associated aquatic habitats in Kerala have disappeared over the last 50 years, mainly due to land use changes and other anthropogenic pressures. With climate change emerging as a serious threat, the future of the remaining wetlands is now very bleak.”

Climate change is expected to bring two important changes to the hydrological regime in the tropics – temperature changes of the water and inundation of wetlands due to heavy flooding or drying up of many wetlands due to drought.

Even modest increase in temperature can have dramatic impact on aquatic habitats and diversity of several species.

Changes in the hydrological cycle will result in submergence of habitats, salinisation of groundwater aquifers and estuaries, decrease of freshwater availability, and changes in sediment inputs and nutrient loadings.

Changes in the seasonal pattern of run-off in streams and rivers in response to climate change will alter species composition and ecosystem productivity while prolonged dry periods could selectively eliminate aquatic plants that require wetter conditions.

Periods of low flow in streams and rivers are particularly stressful for aquatic and riparian ecosystems.

“Understanding the resilience of aquatic plants in a climate change situation is critical to develop conservation strategies,” says Dr. Prakashkumar.

The project, he said, would network institutions and researchers working on similar programmes.

The data generated by the study is expected to be helpful for students, scientists, conservationists, planners and developers.