Jaffna:Building back better with value-added research
By Dr. Sriyanie Miththapala
The three-decade long civil conflict in Jaffna severely impinged on the daily lives of the communities who lived on the peninsula. Although education — at all levels — continued despite the adversities, biological field research suffered and stalled for 30 years.
Post 2009, the picture is very different. With freedom to move around, universities in Jaffna are now out in the field, collecting data for various research studies. And here, as in the rest of the island, ecosystems provide a rich source of information.
The Jaffna peninsula — connected to the rest of the land mass by a small strip of land — is unique ecologically as it lacks any natural streams or rivers, of which there are 103 coursing through the rest of the island. It also houses the largest brackish water system in the island, the Jaffna Lagoon Complex: Jaffna, Uppu Aru and Chundikulam, collectively extending over 441 square kilometres, as well as the Thondaimanaaru Lagoon, which is 74.5 square kilometres. Fringing these lagoons are mangroves,large tidal flats and salt marshes. Edging the peninsula are extensive sand dunes; surrounding it are coral reefs and seagrass meadows.
Off the coastline of this peninsula, are several islands — Analaitivu, Chirutivu, Delft, Eluvaitivu, Karativu, Karaitivu,Kayts, Mandativu, Nagadeepa or Nainativu, and Punkudutivu — less populated than the peninsula.With funding from the Small Grant Facility (SGF) of Mangroves for the Future (MFF) regional initiative, scientists from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Jaffna set out to develop a socio-ecological profile of the Jaffna Lagoon, in order to support the upcoming development efforts while ensuring the sustainability and resilience of ecosystems.
Jaffna Lagoon is a large lagoon, about 400 km, opening in the southwest into the Palk Bay and in the northwest, between Kayts and the most western tip of the peninsula.
The study assessed the composition of the flora and fauna of the Lagoon; analysed lagoon water and mud; and collected socio-economic data of communities living around the lagoon.
Mangroves, salt marshes, mud flats and sea grass meadows were observed in the Lagoon area.Five species of mangrove plants, and two species of plants from salt marshes were observed. One hundred species of fin fish, 28 species of molluscs, six species of crabs and seven species of prawns were identified in the catches from the Lagoon, indicating a richness of species important for fisheries.
Data collected from a 1,000 households living around the Lagoon revealed that a quarter of people living around the Lagoon were full-time fishermen, nearly all of whom use traditional methods of fishing, 85.4% of whom fish in the Lagoon, showing how important the Lagoon is for fisheries and their lives. Nearly a tenth of the population was below the poverty line, indicating the need to improve livelihoods, and at the same time ensure that the health of the Lagoon is not damaged.
The study revealed that the water quality in certain areas of the Lagoon raised some serious concerns, as there was exceptional salinity in the Thenmaradchi area. Such hyper-salinity changes the composition of species in the Lagoon — for example, salt-tolerant species will survive while others will not. These changes will have profound impacts on fisheries.
In addition, in the areas of Navanthurai, Pannai, Gurunagar, Columbuthurai and Paasayoor, the researchers found increased phosphate levels and a high occurrence of Escherichia coli indicating pollution from agrochemicals and dumping of sewage. These changes will not only affect fisheries but also the health of lagoon communities.
In Kilaly, land mines have not yet been cleared fully, although fishermen do fish there.
Fishermen in Araliththurai and Ponnalai were found to be using small-sized mesh nets, which is an unsustainable practice as it catches juveniles, as well as target species.
Post conflict development has already had a negative impact on the Lagoon, for example, the reconstruction of the Jaffna-Pannai road has blocked the free flow of water, resulting in a reduction of fish catch in the fish landing site of Navanthurai, which is beyond this blockage. Another road constructed for the Mandaitivu village partitioned a wetland, resulting in a differentiation in salinity between the two portions of the wetland, again with consequences for species within this wetland. Yet another road has been built on the island of Chirutivu, destroying the lush mangrove vegetation there.
The Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian