MSc

Wetland management strategy is not very scientifically drawn in India. In
Kerala, state policies do not reflect the conservation element. The kole wetlands
are central Kerala’s unique rice production ecosystem. The ecosystem
significance of the area is evidenced by its inclusion as a Ramsar site, and
recently, they have been considered a separate high value biodiversity area. The
development policies so far do not uphold the provisions for ecosystem protection
of the wetlands. Covering visible interests of the stakeholders, policy makers
touch the politically correct options alone. The marginalised and voiceless
stakeholders mostly lose their interests and so do the ecological concerns, with no
one to project them. This study aimed to come out with policy suggestions as to
how wetland conservation without sacrificing the human economic activity can be
carried out which will inform management plans for the wetlands in the long run.
The study has been conducted in six randomly selected panchayats, three
from each of Thrissur kole and Ponnani kole, which were Arimpur, Paralam and
Thanniyam from Thrissur kole and Kattakampal, Perumpadappu and
Nannamukku from Ponnani kole. Major Stakeholder groups were identified using
the snow ball sampling technique. The major stakeholder groups identified were
farmers, government departments, agricultural labourers, input agencies, cooperatives,
marketing agencies and NGOs. Stakeholder interactions and
information from secondary data led to the development of structural and
functional relationships among the stakeholder groups.
Farmers’ awareness regarding various ecosystem services provided by the
kole lands was studied. The ecosystem functions provided by the kole lands have
been categorised into seven such as hydrological, chemical, recreational,
biological, environmental, socio-economic and other functions. Awareness of the
respondents of the Thrissur and Ponnani koles was analysed and stakeholders
from both koles were commonly aware of 14 services.
Preferences of the stakeholders regarding resource use of the kole lands
were studied using a five point continuum. The major preferences lay in the
premises of livelihood provision, food production, water conservation, role as a
natural resource base, water storage, soil nutrient regulation and provision of
leisure activities.
Stakeholders’ perspectives were elaborately studied by concept mapping
procedure. The perspectives were classified into production, environmental,
socio-economic and ancillary services. Multidimensional scaling was used to
develop a map where each perspective is a point on the map. Proximity values of
the perspectives were considered to interpret the output. As a result similar
perspectives were grouped into one cluster. Concepts in the clusters were suitably
labelled.
Based on all the analyses done, management options for the kole lands
were developed. The important ones were neededs for promotion of more than
one crop in kole, need for integrated farming, proper maintenance of water ways,
promotion of organic measures, education of farmers on water conservation
measures and the like. The study points towards the need for extensive measures
for problem identification and management in kole lands to sustain them as a
major rice producing area in Kerala.