Oceans and Coasts

Powerless by choice

The Congress was jointly organised by Centre for Environment and Development (CED), Thiruvananthapuram and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Thiruvananthapuram 

Inauguration of the conference

Around 350 participants including eminent scientists, agricultural experts and students participated in the event. The conference was inaugurated by the Chief Minister of Kerala, Sri. Oommen Chandy. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister, highlighted that development and environment were linked and that the approach to the cause of agriculture and environment needed to be realistic since the state could not neglect both development and environment. He also pointed out that Kerala was one state having a very high reputation in preserving and protecting the forest cover, which was much  higher than the national average in the state. This was possible due to the will and awareness of the people of Kerala. He emphasised the need for a more realistic approach to deal with issues related to the agriculture and environment.

Inaugural speech by the Chief Minister of Kerala

Over twenty groups and eminent individuals including scientists and member of National Board of Wildlife and National Tiger Conservation Authority have sent a letter (contact SANDRP for a copy) to the Union Ministry of Environment Forests and its Expert Appraisal Committee on River Valley and Hydropower projects to take urgent steps for protection of i

Twenty years after ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity, and ten years after promulgating the Biological Diversity Act, India continues to use doublespeak in dealing with its rivers and their biodiversity

The blind pursuit of economic growth is coming at massive costs, both to natural ecosystems and to hundreds of millions of ecosystem-dependent people, who are being affected by mining, dams, power plants, ports, industries, and other such projects.

The economy of fishing among the traditional fisherfolk of Kerala is based on three operations such as harvesting or catching of the fish, the processing of fish and the marketing of fish.

More than 10.86 million Indians depend on rivers, wetlands, floodplains, estuaries, ponds and tanks for subsistence and market-based fisheries. Though the absolute contribution of riverine fisheries may not be huge in economic terms, it is a very crucial component in livelihood and nutritial security of the rural poor.

Plastic trash fish to highlight coastal pollution at Hyderabad CBD COP

Coastal Salinity Prevention Cell (CSPC) is a joint initiative of Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (India), Ambuja Cement Foundation and Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT). CSPC has a mandate to work on issues addressing livelihood enhancement of communities affected by increasing salinity ingress in the coastal areas. For further information on the CSPC, please log on to www.cspc.org.in. CSPC is looking for two professionals to coordinate and manage the Water and Sanitation (WASH) and Natural Resource Management (NRM) Programme of CSPC.

This draft report by the Kerala Paristhithi Aikya Vedi is an outcome of the Kerala State Environmental Convention, a two day convention that was organised in Trivandrum, Kerala by calling upon various environmental and social organisations, concerned citizens, experts,  political leaders in the state to discuss the environmental crisis that the state has been facing in recent years.