Vembanad Lake, Location, Importance and Threats

Context: Kerala’s Vembanad Lake is facing severe ecological stress. Climate change and pollution from slaughterhouses and shrimp peeling sheds are choking the ecosystem of the Vembanad Lake.

About Vembanad Lake

• Vembanad Lake is located in Kerala, bounded by the districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam and Ernakulam.
• It is the 2nd largest wetland in India and was declared a Ramsar site in 2002. (1st – Sunderbans)
• A Ramsar Site is a wetland that has been declared an ecological area of international importance under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, also known as the ‘Convention of Wetlands’.

• The lake has its source in 4 rivers:
  • Meenachil,
  • Achankovil,
  • Pampa and
  • Manimala
• Vembanad is the longest lake in India (96.5 km) & largest lake of Kerala.
• The famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race is held in Vembanad Lake.
• Kumarakom Bird Sanctuary is located on the east coast of the lake.
• Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, is located in the southern portion of the lake.
• Local names of the lake: Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake etc.

Threats to the Lake

• Pollution: The lake is affected by microplastic pollution from sewage canals, rivers and run-off. It also receives nutrient discharge from urban settlements and pesticide residue from rice polders.
• Land Reclamation: The lake has lost 37% of its original area due to land reclamation.
• Coconut husk retting: Coconut husk retting deteriorates the water quality.
• Tourism: Resorts and residences discharge their waste into the river, and many houseboats do not have bio-toilets.

What are the Ecological Stresses?

• A CWRDM study shows the lake’s carrying capacity for houseboats (461) has been far exceeded, with 954 houseboats + 241 shikaras + 404 motorboats + 1,625 country boats operating daily.
• Tourism pressure → untreated sewage, diesel pollution, and water congestion → coliform levels near Punnamada at 8,000 (dangerously high).
• Local fishers’ livelihoods are collapsing due to the loss of fish breeding grounds and the monopolisation of waterways by luxury houseboats.
• The lake’s area is shrinking drastically (from 130.68 sq km in 1967 to just 3.29 sq km in 2011; still losing ~0.3 sq km annually).
• Encroachments (illegal resorts, villas, high-rises like Maradu flats, Nediyathuruthu villas) continue to destroy wetlands and block water channels.

Sharing is caring!