PLANNING FOR MANAGEMENT OF ESTUARY MOUTH - A CASE OF ASHTAMUDI KOLLAM

Abstract

Estuaries are home to a diverse habitat and is often where the environmental and economic interest collide. Most water bodies in India from many estuarine environments which are under threat from various marine and inland water-based activities. It is high time that regional level estuary management plans be brought into action for the protection of fragmented habitats of the threatened estuaries. Thus, it becomes imperative to introduce local level estuary mouth management plans to maintain estuarine health and to restore the habitat. The study explores the contextual study of the Ashtamudi Estuary extend 6km upstream rooting down to the riparian wards of the extend from four local bodies. An onsite investigation and survey was conducted in the riparian wards to understand and analyze the varied effects of shore on the estuary and lake health. From the investigation and literature studies, contextually relevant parameters are sought for which the issues are identified for which recommendations are provided. Ashtamudi Lake’s estuary mouth is home to variety of habitats which include avi faunal and aqua-faunal species. The paper discusses various impacts generated by intensities of riparian habitat and land-use pattern including urbanization, tourism activities and industrial development over estuarine water resources. The study investigates the impact of various marine and inland water activities on the study area to recommend various methods which can be adopted at the spatial planning level to manage the health of estuary mouth.