Explained | Vizhinjam Protest, Coastal Erosion and Climate Change

Vizhinjam, a small coastal town near Kovalam Beach and a little south of Kerala’s state capital Thiruvananthapuram has recently been grabbing headlines. It is the site for Adani Group’s ambitious ‘Vizhinjam International Transhipment Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport’ project. The project has received much resistance from the local fishing community since the construction of the Rs 7,525-cr Vizhinjam port began four years ago. 

Presently, the protest by the local fishing community is being led by the Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram. No breakthrough could be achieved at the talks between Fisheries Minister V Abdurahiman and representatives of the archdiocese on August 19.

On August 22, 2022, after a week-long protest, the local fisherfolk of Vizhimjam surrounded the construction site laying siege to it. This led to the stoppage of construction work with the Adani Group now saying that work would resume only after the state government arranges proper security for the people working at the site. 

On August 25, the Group filed a petition before the Kerala High Court seeking police protection from the protesters at the construction site. The High Court subsequently directed the police to maintain law and order at the construction site and provide protection to the workers engaged at the site. 

The Vizhinjam Seaport 

The Vizhinjam Seaport is designed primarily to cater to container transshipment besides multi-purpose and ‘break-bulk’ cargo. The port is being currently developed with a Public Private Partnership component on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis. The private partner, the concessionaire, M/s Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited started the construction in December 2015 after an agreement was signed between the Kerala Government and the Adani Group.

The port was originally scheduled to be commissioned in December 2019 but the progress was delayed by a series of ‘force majeure’ events including cyclone Ockhi and the Covid-19 pandemic, as claimed by the Adani Group. Phase 1 of the project is now expected to be completed by March 2023. 

The multi-purpose deep water seaport is coming up in 360 acres of land (of which 130 acres have been reclaimed from the sea). It would be the largest of its kind in the country when completed and it has been claimed that it can handle 80 percent of the country’s cargo trans-shipments. 

Why local communities are against it?

The main allegation of the fisherfolk and the local community is that since the construction of the Port began four years ago, large-scale coastal erosion has increased in the region every year during the monsoon season. The demand of the protesters now is that the construction work of the Seaport should be stopped immediately and a proper environmental impact study should be carried out. 

It has been reported that mighty waves have destroyed rows of houses in the coastal region and many people have been forced to move into relief camps as even sea walls have failed to provide protection. The lives of the fisherfolk are now under threat and many of them are switching over to other jobs, according to reports. 

Also, the closeness of the Port to the fishing harbour has led to the growing fear among the fisherfolk that the tranquility of the sea will be harmed which will have an impact on fishing. Reports of fisherfolk already having to travel deeper into the sea for ‘catch’ have emerged. 

What does the Government say?

On August 23, Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly that the protest in some areas seemed ‘orchestrated’. He further said that the government was ready to talk and resolve the concerns of the fishing community but the project could not be halted.

Earlier in 2019, Kerala Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma admitted that the construction of the ‘breakwater reef’ for the port has impacted the lives and livelihood of the fishing community in the Thiruvananthapuram district.

Mongabay India quoted the Minister as saying, “There were assertions that the port wouldn’t have any impact on coastal livelihood and ecology. But now we are finding that there are repercussions. The breakwater reef, when completed, would be 3,000 metres long. Now only the first 600 metres of it have been completed, and already the sea has been responding in a ferocious manner, causing huge tides. We need development, and we are not in a mood to scuttle the port project. Our focus now is on alternatives and solutions that can minimise coastal erosion. In all probability, the problem will get worse when the construction of the breakwater reef is completed.”

Coastal Erosion 

The U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit website says, ‘Coastal erosion is the process by which local sea level rise, strong wave action, and coastal flooding wear down or carry away rocks, soils, and/or sands along the coast. All coastlines are affected by storms and other natural events that cause erosion; the combination of storm surge at high tide with additional effects from strong waves—conditions commonly associated with landfalling tropical storms—creates the most damaging conditions.’ 

The Ministry of Earth Sciences of India recently stated that about 34% of the 6,907.18 km long Indian coastline is under varying degrees of erosion. 46.4% of the 592.96 km long Kerala coastline is facing erosion, it further mentioned.  

According to a 2016 joint study, by researchers of the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai and the National Centre for Earth Sciences Studies in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, coastal erosion will occur 1.5 times faster than in the past three decades. 

Role of Climate Change in Coastal Erosion

According to the IPCC, there will be a significant rise in coastal erosion worldwide owing to sea level rise caused by climate change leading to changes in coastlines and low-lying coastal areas. 

A Kerala University study titled, ‘Assessment of coastal variations due to climate change using remote sensing and machine learning techniques: A case study from west coast of India’, found that Indian coasts are vulnerable to coastal erosion due to sea-level rise. The ‘spurt in the shoreline changes is correlated mainly to the increased occurrences of cyclones in the Arabian sea’, the study further concluded. 

According to the IPCC assessment report, India’s sea level will rise significantly by 2050 because of climate change. In the North Indian Ocean, sea level rise occurred at a rate of 1.06–1.75 mm per year from 1874 to 2004. Sea level rise has accelerated to 3.3 mm per year during the 1993–2017 period.

Thiruvanthapuram and Coastal Erosion 

Vizhinjam, located in the city of Thiruvanthapuram has a long history of coastal erosion. According to a study based on IPCC reports for key coastal cities, Thiruvanthapuram and many other coastal cities may go underwater by 2050 because of the rising sea levels. The stretch along Star Road, Airport–Valiyathura road, Lana Road, and Kovalam Beach road will be submerged by the potential sea-level rise, the study further mentioned. 

The Kerala University study mentioned above has found that 2.62 sq km of land has already eroded away from the shore of Thiruvanthapuram in the last 14 years (from 2006 to 2020). The study has concluded that coastal erosion is likely to turn severe along large stretches of the Thiruvananthapuram coast by 2027. 

Human activities making Vizhinjam coastline further vulnerable to Climate Change?

It has been reported that multiple studies conducted recently by the government concluded that the under-construction Vizhinjam Seaport is not leading to increased coastal erosion. Some other studies pointed to the fact that coastal erosion in and around Vizhinjam is mainly taking place due to changes in climatic conditions like an increase in intense cyclonic storms and the construction of unscientific structures built to check sea erosion. 

“It is a known fact that the coast of Thiruvananthapuram is severely eroding even before the construction of the port. Usually, port activities are prohibited on the eroding coast because any structure will cause sea erosion. Ignoring this fact, the authorities went head to head with the work,” said Joseph Vijayan, spokesperson for Coastal Watch, an outfit working for fishermen’s causes, Thiruvananthapuram to The Hindu. 

The construction of unscientific structures in the sea along an erosion-prone coastline is only making matters worse for the region as the breakwater reef of the Vizhinjam Port is leading to more coastal erosion, experts pointed out. 

Dr K.V. Thomas, former scientist with the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, told HuffPost India, “Unfortunately, neither the environmental nor livelihood impacts of the project have been assessed sufficiently or accurately. The port is irresponsibly sited in the erosion-prone coast of Thiruvananthapuram. Studies indicate that the coastline is not braced to subsume the potential impacts from construction and operation of the Vizhinjam port.” 

The Breakwater Reef of Vizhinjam Port

A Breakwater is a barrier built out into the sea to protect a coast or harbour from the force of waves. But recent studies have concluded that these breakwater reefs could be counterproductive in the case of coastlines. Multiple studies have pointed out the fact that ‘unscientific’ breakwater construction could result in coastal erosion leading to major shoreline changes. 

A 3km long breakwater reef is under construction for the Vizhinjam Port near Thiruvanthapuram and although only a portion of it has been completed, it is already causing high tides that might be contributing to coastal erosion in the area. This has been alleged by the locals and was corroborated by the Fisheries Minister of Kerala in 2019, as mentioned above. 

KV Thomas said to Down To Earth, “The coastal erosion in the Vizhinjam-Valiyathura-Shanghumukham region is the aftereffect of the ongoing large-scale construction work at the seaport site, especially for a 3000-metre breakwater. Sea erosion will worsen in the coming years. It will pose challenges to the local airport and many Indian Space Research Organisation facilities in coastal villages Veli and Thumba.”