The Urbane: Wreaking Havoc

Degradation of Urban biodiversity


Urban biodiversity; the term seems like a misnomer for many of us. However, a closer look reveals that India’s rapidly developing towns and cities actually are home to a number of habitats ranging from city forests to lakes to estuaries. Many cities are a treasure house of ecosystems. However with rapid urbanisation, these ecosystems are facing a slow but inevitable death.

Chennai has varied biodiversity- Rivers, sea front, hills, lakes, swamps, backwaters and an estuary. Unfortunately, Chennai has squandered its ecological wealth to replace it with concrete wealth. The Adyar estuary located in the heart of the city of Chennai is one such example. An estuary, where the fresh water of the river meets the brackish water of the sea, is a unique and fragile ecosystem, representing a habitat between the land and the sea. It is never static. The important feature of this environment is the constant change of mixture of salt and fresh-water. It is not just a bird refuge; it is an open space for an increasingly breathless city, a wetland that helps maintain the water table apart from being a unique geographical feature. The Adyar estuary is part of the identity of the city.
The degradation of this beautiful creek began when the Chennai Corporation decided to dredge it to facilitate boating. This was followed by the proposal by the government to set up an Ambedkar Mandapam. The islets and creeks on Thiru Vi Ka’s bridge were cleared. The Adyar estuary once extended upto Foreshare Estate and included Quibble Island at Santhome. The Quibble Island doesn’t exist anymore and has vanished owing to the illegal constructions that sprouted around the estuary. The creek, originating near the Chettinad Palace, and then meandering through Foreshore Estate and ending at Mandavelipakkam, has today been reduced to half its original size - 100 acres. At the Karpagam Avenue one notices garbage being dumped.
The proposed restoration plan designed by the Pitchikundalam Forest Consultants, funded by the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Ltd (TNUIFSL) aims at creating an Eco-park to conserve the estuary. However a look at the plan has one asking many questions. The plan talks about restoring only part of the estuary and doesn’t consider the other part. The restoration plan has been designed only for 58 acres leaving the remaining 300 acres in a lurch. However, NGO’s and activists groups like the Consumer Action Group (CAG) are not convinced by this restoration plan and finds flaw with the basic idea of having an eco park. Says Rajesh Rangarajan of CAG “If the government really wants to restore this estuary, then it would decrease human intervention and not facilitate it. Any ecosystem can restore itself if it is left to its own devices.” After the draft plan was drawn up, CAG had gone to the court. Later, the court passed the revised plan with the changes as suggested by CAG. The plan shows storm water outlets which are but sewage outlets. A closer look shows that all the storm water outlets are connected directly to the police quarters, Sreenivasapuram and Santhome. Sewage has been drained into the Adyar river and Cooum river since decades causing their slow death. The plan has come up with a concept of satellite ponds. Satellite ponds are nothing but man made ponds which traps freshwater and according to Joss Brooks, the lead consultant of the Pitchikundalam Forest Consultants, “Satellite ponds serve as a new habitat and we can integrate other aquatic life in these ponds.” However, integrating new aquatic life into another habitat is a problem in itself. Previous attempt to integrate aquatic life that doesn’t belong in a particular habitat has proven that often such organisms become parasitic by nature.
Whether or not the restoration plan with its proposals of eco-park, urban pathway, satellite ponds would actually help the estuary, one can only wait and see. However, the restoration plan is going to have other impact. The plan says “Opportunity for investment for infrastructure and beautifying the water front”. The plan has asked for eviction of the Sreenivasapuram residents as a part of this beautification process. Also the fate of 70 fishing families has now become uncertain. “I fail to understand why one requires 100 crores to restore an ecosystem? There is a strong real estate lobby involved in this plan”, argues Amritha of CAG.
The Pallinkaranai swamp, a wetland is another example of abuse of urban biodiversity. Many Chennaites identify Pallinkaranai as a dump yard and not many know that this swamp was once home to a different kind of ecosystem. The swamp had been abused mostly by government agencies, leading to its fragmentation. The swamp is currently only tenth of its original size owing to mindless encroachments and illegal construction. It is also an example of the government’s inability to understand the importance of the environmental consequences of such actions. The government had allocated these 273 acres of the marshland to various departments. Urban marshes suffer abuses of varied kinds most common being dumping of garbage and leaving untreated sewage into the marsh. Most distressing is the use of the marsh as an outlet of untreated sewage and as a dump for garbage that is not entirely biodegradable. The overall change in the extent and orientation of the Marsh has led to stagnation of polluted water that emits foul smell. This marsh is an identified as an internationally important bird area. Most distressing is the use of the marsh as an outlet of untreated sewage and as a dump for garbage that is not entirely biodegradable. The overall change in the extent and orientation of the Marsh has led to stagnation of polluted water that emits foul smell. According to Jayashree Venkateshan of Care Earth an NGO, “
Degradation of urban biodiversity is not just a matter of visual loss. These habitats provide fresh air and act as sponges for air and water pollution. They are also buffers against the noise pollution and are a haven on hot summers. If one were to measure these benefits they would run into thousands of crores of rupees. Money can be earned but a destroyed ecosystem cannot be restored.