Care Earth Trust
Organization background

Founded in 2000, Care Earth Trust (CET) focuses on assessing and reducing human impact on the environment. They provide environmental education; capacity building and training initiatives; evaluation and monitoring, wetland restoration, urban forests and greening and forests & livelihoods services.

Project Description

Wetlands are a very important part of the environment as they provide freshwater, food, natural habitats, water security and biodiversity. Wetlands provide water during droughts, and also absorb excess water during floods, thus serving to protect against both types of severe weather events. However, due to over-development, India has lost more than 50% of its wetlands in the vicinity of cities, and the majority of the remaining wetlands are degraded & heavily polluted. One consequence of the loss of these areas is severe flooding and drought. For instance, Chennai, the largest city in south India, experienced devastating flooding in 2015, and one of the worst water shortages in India’s history in 2019.

Arasankalani Anaicut Thangal, part of the Ottiyambakkam group of wetlands, is a singular wetland that serves as a conduit for the surplus water that is discharged in the almost flat terrain. The wetland is shallow (thangal) and its primary role is to hold surface freshwater and slowly percolate it into the sandy bed below. Due to neglect the thangal has poor water quality and is also infested with invasive plant species. Due to silt buildup, the water also does not drain well causing recurrent flooding and droughts.

Methods of restoration usually include removal of the invasive series, desilting, strengthening the boundaries of the wetland to protect from encroachment and eco-friendly bioremediation to improve water quality (based on the soil and water quality).

GKF contributions to CET