'Even one accident can cause problems for the entire coastal system.'
To the political parties in Kerala, irrespective of the colour they represent, the Vizhinjam international seaport is an 'ambitious step on the path to prosperity'.
But to environmental activists, marine experts and the fishing community, it is an 'irresponsibly sited project'.
As the fishing community protested against the port, the Janakeeya Padana Samithi issued wa report titled Our Beaches, Our Sea: Heritage of Fishing Communities, Usufruct of All Citizens.
The report highlights the impact the Vizhinjam port will have on beaches, the coast, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of fishing communities.
Dr K V Thomas, who worked as a marine scientist at the National Centre for Earth Science Studies and served as dean at the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, is the chairman of the Janakeeya Padana Samithi.
"Till now, this coastal zone and coastal waters were more or less free from shipwrecks, accidents or pollution due to such events. But in the last few weeks, there was first a shipwreck 165 km north of Vizhinjam port, and then a cargo ship catching fire along the Kerala coast near Kozhikode. When large containers are coming regularly, there is every chance of ship wreck," Dr Thomas tells Rediff's Shobha Warrier.
As a marine scientist, you had earlier raised concerns about the Vizhinjam port's impact on the coastline especially regarding sediment accumulation at the inlet.
Do you see any connection between the recent shipwreck and sediment accumulation? Or, is it due to the fragile coastline?
What is happening in the coastal area is actually not sediment accumulation but sediment being taken away from other places. But it doesn't have a direct impact on the shipwreck.
Yes, eroding coastline has an impact. The coastline is already eroding on both sides of Vizhinjam port such as Kottappuram to Mullur, Panathura to Valiyathura.
Some locations like Admalathura about 10 km south of Vizhinjam has been accreting (sediment deposition).
Unfortunately, some of the studies done by well-known institutes reported that this was a stable coast.
But it is a fragile coast...
Yes, it is an eroding coast, and there are ample studies to prove it.
But this important fact was not considered when permission to build the port was given.
Rather, wrong information was given to the ministry and other agencies which dealt with environment.
That was one of the mistakes the system made.
Apart from that, this area -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and further south -- is one of the largest settlement area of traditional fishers who go to the sea and fish for their livelihood.
This very important fact was never considered when giving clearance to the port.
In fact, one of the components of our blue economic policy is to map the marine spatial plans to find out the areas used by different stakeholders.
If an effort was made to map the boat path of traditional fishers; also their fishing zones, you will see that these are the areas where traditional fishermen do fishing for their livelihood.
If they had done that, a major port like this would not have come there at all.
So, by giving permission to the Vizhinjam port, the authorities did not pay any attention to the livelihood of the fishermen who were dependant on the entire coastline?
Exactly. The port authorities claim that large ships are going to come regularly in large numbers with large containers.
Then, it is going to create livelihood issues for the fishing community.
Till now, this coastal zone and coastal waters were more or less free from shipwrecks or accidents or pollution due to such events.
More than that, Vizhinjam and Kovalam areas have been identified as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
When an area is identified as Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is our duty to protect the aesthetics, and the unique biodiversity of the area as it has reefs, cliffs, pocket beaches, etc.
The biodiversity report has mapped that there are around 16 to 17 rocky reefs in the area which are in the bed of the coastal waters but now buried under the reclaimed region. And that is where fish breed. It is a habitat for fish.
When ships come, it disturbs the system. We just cannot quantify the adverse impact the port will have on the environment.
All these factors were ignored while giving sanction to build a port here.
When large containers come regularly, there is every chance of ship wreck or some accidents happening in this region which will be detrimental to the biodiversity in the water part and the bottom part of the sea.
This will, in the long run, affect the fish availability and eventually it will affect the livelihood of the fishermen community and also our food security.
In short, the port will affect the entire coastal system including biodiversity.
After the shipwreck, many experts wrote that it was waiting to happen. Did you also feel that way?
Many ships are coming to the port and this has to happen at some point of time.
Why?
Because of the monsoon conditions. The Thiruvananthapuram coast has some of the highest waves during the south west monsoon.
So, accidents are bound to happen at some point if proper precautions are not taken. Of course, we don't expect it to happen regularly.
An accident has already happened, and it will happen again.
Even that one accident can cause problems for the entire coastal system.
Is it true that the south west monsoon impacts the sand movement near the Vizhinjam port, which in turn will affect the port's operations and the surrounding coastline?
The south west monsoon is the time when sand on the beach gets eroded due to strong winds and high waves.
The sand then moves to either sides, causing it to accumulate on the southern side of the port and erosion on the northern side.
This build-up of the sand can cause problems for navigation especially at the mouth of the existing fishing harbour and its surroundings.
In many places in Thiruvananthapuram, we don't have beaches.
In fact, from Kovalam for about 10 to 12 kms, there is no beach now.
Towards the south also, beaches have disappeared. In the Tamil Nadu coast also, the same erosion is happening.
If ships are moving close to the shore line, this can create problems.
And this ship MSC ELSA 3 was moving very close to the shoreline.
After the wreck, the containers and the contents in the containers such as plastic pellets came to the territorial waters, and they got accumulated in the beaches and settlement areas all along the coastline. You see them settling on the sea walls also.
So, we can say the passage of the ship close to the shoreline has created problems.
Is dredging done in the coastal waters while building the port a reason for coastal erosion?
While building this port, around 7.6 to 8 million cubic metres of sand has been dredged from the coastal waters in the first phase.
In the coastal areas, sediments move out and move in, and this process functions as an equilibrium making the coast stable.
But when huge amount of sand is mined from the coast waters, it affects the sediment movement, equilibrium and the stability of the coast.
Mining and dredging are done to increase the draft. Using that sand, reclamation is done. Right now, 66 hectors of coastal waters is reclaimed.
What happens due to reclamation is, it impedes or changes the natural coastal processes like sediment movement.
Along with this, they construct breakwaters also which interferes with the nearshore currents. And it is the nearshore currents that move the sediments.
This will create a deficiency of sand in the downstream side which in turn will create loss of the beach.
All this will affect the stability of the coast.
Along with this, the Thiruvananthapuram beach was already an eroding coast.
After the port was inaugurated, the coastal community raised concerns about what would happen if an accident were to happen.
In fact, concern of shipwrecks was raised by the fishing community even earlier also.
You mean, the shipwreck will have far reaching implications on the livelihood of the people, the entire coast and also the environment?
Yes, it will have far reaching implications.
We still do not know whether any of these leaked the materials have gone to the bottom of the sea, what the containers have inside and what is happening at the bottom of the sea.
This is monsoon time and as the waves are high, they have toppled these containers.
When the containers hit the sea walls, they broke open.
The pieces of containers have spread throughout the coast along with plastic pellets.
The plastic pellets are not just there on the beach but in the coastal waters also. The fishermen are collecting a lot of plastic pellets in their nets.
Because of strong winds, these plastic pellets have settled in the settlement areas, among the vegetation, and also on the sea walls.
The authorities are not even talking about the destruction the shipwreck is causing the environment, they are celebrating the arrival of the world's largest ship at Vizhinjam....
No port claims about a ship coming there!
No port has had five inaugurations. When the crane came, there was an inauguration.
When the ship came, there was an inauguration. When a big ship came, there was an inauguration.
It is media hype that is happening about Vizhinjam.
I have never seen a port celebrating the arrival of a ship because ports are built for that purpose only!
Do you think they should have built the port somewhere else?
There is no doubt about the fact that this coast is not the right place for a port of this size.
It can at the most have a fishing harbour.
If you look at the at the density of traditional fishers and the geomorphology of the area, this area is not fit for a port of this size.
Since they have ignored all the warnings while building the port, do you see more disasters happening?
Disasters are already happening, and I expect more disasters to happen.
The problem today is, we only talk about development. But definition of development in our administrative system and the political leadership is changing. That's why all this is happening.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff
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