A researcher from Androth in Lakshadweep claimed that coastal erosion had sunk an island in the archipelago and another four are vanishing fast. According R M Hidayathulla, who studied the vulnerability of the islands, Parali I island, part of Bangaram Atoll, disappeared due to coastal erosion.
Parali I island, which had a land surface of 0.032 km2 in 1968, has been destroyed to an extent of 100 percent, Hidayathulla claimed in his research work "Studies on Coastal Erosion in Selected Uninhabited Islands of Lakshadweep Archipelago with Special Reference to Biodiversity Conservation." Hidayathulla holds a PhD degree from Calicut University in Kerala.
His study was confined to five uninhabited islands – Bangaram, Thinnakara, Parali I, II and III. The destruction of Parali I island points to the gravity of coastal erosion within the atoll, he warned.
"The results are indicative of the urgent measures to be implemented on each islet of the atoll to check further erosion.. It is also recommended to check the feasibility of a bio protection strategy using mangroves, in addition to the conventional physical protection measures," Hidayathulla told the Press Trust of India.
"One island has submerged.. We can say Lakshadweep now is not an archipelago of 36 islands," he told PTI.
Hidayathulla said that the data for his research work were processed using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) software.
"Since the absence of this island (Parali I) is noticed in both observations carried out in 2003 and 2007, it is assumed that the island has been subjected to complete erosion during 1968-2003 periods and an assessment of the exact year of its inundation requires data analysis for a span of 35 years extending from 1968," said the study.
Hidayathulla noticed a trend in erosion in almost all islands he studied. But the magnitude of erosion was higher in Parali group.
Climate expert Chandra Bhushan said that in India very few studies had been undertaken on the erosion of islands and Hidayathulla's research work was one among that.
"It is now widely recognised that islands and coastal areas are going to get eroded and inundated due to rising sea levels because of increasing global temperature. India's coasts and islands, which are densely populated, are highly vulnerable," Bhushan, also a deputy director general of New Delhi-based advocacy group Centre for Science Environment (CSE), told PTI.
"With the sea levels predicted to rise further, we should start preparing for building defenses to protect our coastlines and islands," he added.
