Tribal communities,the forests,the fisher folk and the river: whither water justice?

Excessive exploitation of and skewed access to dwindling water resources raise serious water justice concerns. Environmental justice movements and related literature have raised critical questions regarding the unequal distribution of the costs and benefits of a development paradigm that is founded on excessive exploitation and appropriation of natural resources. This paper explores the growing relevance of a water justice framework that addresses both the social and ecological aspects of water use and appropriation, with reference to a four-decade long water conflict over the Chaliyar River in Kerala, South India. It highlights how ecosystem degradation and denial of justice go hand in hand. The paper argues that the framing and articulation of the conflict in a partisan manner led to the glossing over of certain critical features, thus preventing a full view of water injustices. It also failed to inform subsequent policies and practices in this regard.     

Hydrochemistry and dissolved nutrient flux of two small catchment rivers, south-western India

This paper deals with the water chemistry and dissolved nutrient flux of two small mountainous and heavily dammed rivers—Periyar and Chalakudy—of Kerala on the south-west coast of India. The lower reaches of these rivers are affected by sea-water ingression from the Arabian Sea during the non-monsoon season. Human interference through agriculture, urbanization, and industrialization in the lower and middle stretches of the river basins induces marked concentration variations in the hydro-chemical parameters. Except for N & P, all other chemical constituents exhibit high values during the non-monsoon season. Industrial contaminants in specific locations of the Periyar river reduce the pH to lower levels. Nutrients in the two rivers reveal marked seasonal and regional concentration variations. During the monsoon season, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) predominates over dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), but the reverse trend is observed during the non-monsoon season. The Periyar river shows higher average concentrations of DIN (monsoon 801 μg l^-1 and non-monsoon 292 μg l^-1) than Chalakudy river (monsoon 478 μg l^-1 and non-monsoon 130 μg l^-1). Dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) has lower average values in the monsoon season (Periyar river, 38 μg l^-1; Chalakudy river, 42 μg l^-1) than dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) values (Periyar river, 107 μg l^-1; Chalakudy, 62 μg l^-1). The rivers show a marked difference in nutrient flux due to its difference in water discharge/basin characteristics and point/non-point sources of contaminants. The flux rates of DIN, DIP, and DOP during the monsoon are higher than during the non-monsoon season, while those of dissolved silicon (DSi), dissolved Fe (DFe), and DON are lower. On average, the Periyar river discharges 4953 t y^-1 of DIN and 1626 t y^-1 of DON to the coastal waters, and the corres-ponding values of the Chalakudy river are 772 t y^-1 and 596 t y^-1. The Periyar and Chalakudy rivers discharge 245 t y^-1 and 70.8 t y^-1 of DIP, respectively. The total flux of DOP is considerably higher (Periyar river 703 t y^-1 and Chalakudy river 101 t y^-1). The discharge of DSi into the Periyar river (40 193 t y^-1) is nearly five times higher than that in the Chalakudy river (8275 t y^-1). The discharges of DFe through the Periyar and Chalakudy rivers are 257 t y^-1 and 36.7 t y^-1, respectively. To sum up, this study addresses the water quality and nutrient flux of two tropical rivers and discusses the impact of urbanization and industrialization on river-water quality.     

Spatial distribution of organic geochemical record in the core sediments along the prominent zones of Central Kerala,India

The study investigated the origin, quality, composition, and trophic state of sedimentary organic matter (SOM) in core samples collected from three zones (Munambam, Vypin, Chettuva) of Central Kerala, India. The SOM exhibited enhanced levels for carbohydrate (CHO) followed by protein (PRT) and lipid (LPD); and phytopigment in the sediment followed the trend: Pheophytin (Pheo) > Carotenoid (carotend) > Chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) > Chlorophyll-b (Chl-b) > Chlorophyll-c (Chl-c). The low PRT: CHO ratio indicated a large amount of nonliving or aged organic matter in the sedimentary environment. Whereas the low Chl-a: Pheo ratio interprets the abundance of dead plant materials in the sediments. Correlation matrix showed strong association between organic matter and clay fraction of sediment. Furthermore, the strong interrelationships between biochemical components and chloropigments in all the zones suggested that SOM is strictly connected to phytodetritus deposition. Vypin zone near Vallarpadam Container Terminal revealed the presence of high biopolymeric carbon content. Besides, the PRT: CHO > 1 reflected the eutrophic condition at the same site but the low PRT: CHO ratio in the remaining stations displays the oligotrophic nature.     

Prevalence of organochlorine pesticide residues in groundwaters of Kasargod District,India

The Kasargod District is the northernmost district of Kerala State and is bound between the north latitudes 12°02′27″ and 12°47′35″ and east longitudes 74°51′54″ and 75°25′25″. The present study highlights the contamination levels of organochlorine pesticides in open wells of the Kasargod District from 2010 to 2011. Maximum contamination of organochlorine pesticides (OCP's) was observed for endosulfan followed by hexachlorobenzene (BHC). Contamination levels of α-endosulfan were higher at Panathur (58?µg?L^?1) and next to Periya (37?µg?L^?1) in the postmonsoon season of 2010. During premonsoon 2011, the residue levels of α-endosulfan were higher at Panathady (56?µg?L^?1) followed by Rajapuram (40?µg?L^?1). Contamination levels of the BHC isomers exhibit the order of γ-BHC?>?α-BHC?>?β‐BHC, showing that γ-BHC represents 62% of the total OCP residues in premonsoon 2010. Among the studied OCP's, concentration levels of DDT were below detection limit. Maximum concentrations of the sum of all OCP residues were observed at Mulleria and Cheemeni (premonsoon 2010), followed by Panathur and Periya (postmonsoon 2010), and lowest in Panathady and Rajapuram (premonsoon 2011). Residues of OCP's were lowest in Paettikundu and Cheravatur in all the three seasons.     

Environmental forensic analysis of the microplastic pollution at “Nattika” Beach,Kerala Coast,India

Abstract

Kerala, being a prominent tourist destination in the southern part of India with a coastline of 560?km, is prone to microplastic pollution. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the USA defines microplastics as plastics of size < 5?mm–1?nm. To solve the problem of microplastic pollution, it is essential to track its source. As plastics are pervasive, it is challenging to track its source with a level of certainty required for implementing control strategies. Formulating and adopting suitable environmental forensic techniques to track microplastic pollution become important in this context. This study quantified the microplastic pollution of the Nattika coast, Kerala, India, and devised an environmental forensic investigation strategy for identifying the pathways and sources of microplastics. The microplastics of size 5–1?mm only were considered. The number of microplastics found in the Nattika Beach in 2017 and 2018 was 70.15 items kg^?1 of sand and 120.85 items kg^?1 of sand, respectively. The microplastics were subjected to analysis in FTIR and SEM as part of characterization. The forensic investigation of the pollution indicated that majority of the microplastic is sourced from the site/nearby area. The investigation could draw useful conclusions regarding the pathways of pollution. The fibrous microplastic, a significant component in the sample, was found to be sourced from the fishing net mending activities carried out close to the shore.     

An environmental forensic investigation at a bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facility in Kerala,India

Indian statutes identify twelve different types of biomedical wastes and give the treatment and disposal options for each. Since it is not possible for every generator of biomedical waste to go for their own treatment and disposal facility, the small-scale generators take the service of centralized treatment and disposal facilities available to them on payment. In the state of Kerala in India, where the basic health indicators match those of many developed countries, the centralized biomedical waste treatment facility is run by Indian Medical Association (IMA), Kerala, under the banner IMAGE (IMA Goes Eco-Friendly) at a place called “Kanjikode” in the Palakkad District. The facility receives biomedical waste from around 4500 hospitals across the State and an equal number of medical laboratories. The plant incinerates the incinerable waste and the other kind of waste are disinfected and decontaminated. The residual ash and dried sludge are then moved to the landfill area. Recently, the facility was in the middle of a controversy due to the alleged health hazards it posed to the surrounding population. An environmental forensic investigation was carried out at the site to establish the merits of the allegation. The reported study is a part of the investigation where groundwater was analysed for the presence of heavy metals. As the biomedical waste contain heavy metals like Zn, Pb, Cd, Cr, and Hg, the presence of these were analysed to establish contamination of groundwater by the facility. The study area is bounded by Malampuzha dam and Korayar river. Groundwater contaminant transport modelling was done for a 3430 m × 3960 m area surrounding the waste treatment facility using Visual MODFLOW and MODPATH. Ground water flow direction and particle pathlines were computed to track the movement of contaminants. Groundwater samples were collected from the area shown to be polluted by the model, if metals were discharged by the facility, and also from outside this area. Water samples were collected conforming to the guidelines in the “Pollution Crime Forensic Investigation Manual” published by INTERPOL. The collected water samples were tested for heavy metal concentration using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The water sample analysis showed that the groundwater is not contaminated by heavy metal discharge from the biomedical treatment facility.