Abstract: The Lakshadweep is a group of coral islands located on the northernmost part of the Laccadive-Chagos ridge in the Arabian Sea. The relative isolation, small size, narrow range of natural resources and susceptibility to natural hazards are major problems faced by these islands. Recently, the Lakshadweep has been in news following the PM’s visit and the inconclusive comments made by a few politicians from the Maldives. There is no meaning in comparing the Lakshadweep with the Maldives. Maldives have been overexploited in the name of development to increase GDP at the cost of a fragile coral environment. They can afford to lose a few more islands, as they have more than 1000 islands, 200 of which are inhabited.
This study addresses the different issues/problems faced by the Lakshadweep Islands based on the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICMP) and Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP) approach carried out earlier for the Lakshadweep Administration for overall developmental activities, including tourism infrastructure enhancement. These plans looked carefully at the limited natural resources on the islands and tagged some of the very important issues/problems requiring immediate management intervention. Some of these include coastal erosion and shore protection; freshwater management; conservation of coral reefs/mangroves; sewage and solid waste treatment; fishery resource exploitation and catch enhancement; tourism, infrastructure development; and environmental education. This paper will also discuss the way forward for sustainable tourism on these islands.
About the speakers: Dr Prakash is a Marine Scientist. He retired as Director from National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Ministry of Earth Science, GOI, Trivandrum in 2019. He was also a Senior Consultant in the same institute till 2021. His research interests are in Beach and Coastal Processes including the Management aspects. He has extensively worked on coastal placer mineral deposits of SW coast of India for sustainable beach mining through sediment budgeting study. Mr. Prakash has also worked in the coral islands of Lakshadweep on coastal erosion, coastal regulations including the preparation of management plans. He also led a team to the Lakshadweep Islands for the preparation of Integrated Island Management Plan (IIMP). He has participated in many cruises including in the deep-sea research vessel. He has undergone training at the International Ocean Institute at Malta on the ‘Management and Conservation of Marine Resources’. He has successfully completed many research projects as Principal Investigator including many consultancy projects. He has published more than 50 research papers in national and international journals including a book and two field-guide books.