BLOOM OR BANE

Surge of vibrant pink water lilies in Kuttanad, Kerala, provides socio-economic benefits, but the plant's ecological impacts must be understood

- DEVI VS, JAYASOORYAN KK, KB RAMESHKUMAR AND SONA SEBASTIAN

KERALA'S Kuttanad region holds many unique titles.

Located at 1-2 m below sea level, it has the lowest altitude in the country. It covers approximately 55,000 hectares across the Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta districts and is part of the expansive Vembanad Kole Wetland Ecosystem, a Ramsar site or wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. It is also known as a living example of “below sea level farming”, as its large number of paddy fields have been set up on land reclaimed through draining of the Vembanad lake. This unique system earned Kuttanad the title of a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization in 2013.

For the past eight years, the region's Malarikkal village, in Kottayam district, has been gearing up to be called the home of the vibrant pink Omarana water lily (Nymphaea x omarana Bisset). The surge of this water plant in Malarikkal attracts many tourists from June-July to September-October. This has formed a local economy of sorts, with farmers and local residents offering boat rides and recreational activities by the water lilies, and also selling the plants and flowers. Seeing potential for more tourism, the state's Local Self Government Department is securing funds for road and other developmental projects.

On the surface, the bloom of water lilies has bolstered Kuttanad's economy. However, beneath their pink hue, the plants may be hiding some ecological consequences that need to be understood.

COINCIDENTAL SURGE