Ashtamudi lake, the second largest estuarine system in Kerala and a livelihood support of 3000 fisherfolk who trade clams, has become India's first Marine Stewardship Council-certified fishery. When faced with crisis of reduced catch due to overfishing, its fisherfolk came together and decided to restrict fishing and impose mesh size restrictions for nets, along with a minimum export size. The community also prohibited mechanical clam fishing. These measures showed immediate results as the clam fishery has sustained landings of around 10,000 tonnes per year for the past decade.
Global crop prices have crashed taking India on the verge of an agricultural crisis. The Indian farmers who have benefitted from increased production and higher price realisations over the last ten years, are experiencing a change now as the prices for most agri-commodities are declining globally. This could also be the precursor to a renewed crisis in agriculture. Over the last five-six months it has been observed that prices have crashed for corn, wheat and soybean from $ 8.49 in 2012 to $ 3.7, $ 13.34 in 2012 to $ 5.4 and $ 17.94 in 2008 to $ 10.3 a bushel, respectively.
Hyderabad's two reservoirs Himayatsagar and Osmansagar have been experiencing a progressive decline in inflows, as per the report titled ‘Impact of Urban Sprawl on Water Bodies in Hyderabad’ by Centre for Economic and Social Studies. The study, which analysed the rainfall and inflow patterns into the reservoirs between 1961 and 1996, has predicted that both reservoirs will dry up by 2036 and 2040 respectively. Reduced catchment area due to unchecked encroachments is attributed to be the cause of decreased inflow in the reservoirs.
Meghalaya plans to replicate Tamil Nadu's high-octane campaign from 2002 to harvest rainwater. Despite receiving an annual average rainfall of 2,400 mm, the state is water starved as a major portion of the received rainwater flows downstream into Bangladesh or floods Assam. Therefore, authorities in Meghalaya have constituted a 10-member team that will visit Chennai to understand the city's techniques of conserving water.
According to several independent studies, the water of the Krishna river in Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh, contains high content of heavy metals and compounds like mercury, lead, zinc, phosphate, sulphide, cadmium, iron, nickel and manganese, which could be a cause for cancer, bone deformity and paralysis among residents of several villages along the river banks. Also, these metals have lead to the death of aquatic life in the river. Despite the severity of the situation, the state authorities are yet to take action on the issue.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from November 3 - 9, 2014. Also read last week's policy matters updates.