New book: Synthesis of 20 years of research collaboration between the ZMT and research organisations in Kerala, India
Kerala is an extraordinary place on our planet in many respects. It is the southernmost state of India with a long tropical coastline and it has the highest literacy rate and the highest life expectancy of the country. It is also called "God's own country", not least because of its abundant natural beauty, rich culture and diversity. However, because of its high population density, intensive land use and regulations of hydrology, Kerala's aquatic systems from the mountains to the sea are also facing pollution, health and sustainability issues. Finding solutions on the way towards a sustainable use of aquatic ecosystems requires an integrated understanding of the ecohydrology of the region.
More than 20 years of collaboration on these issues between the ZMT and research organisations in Kerala, mainly the University of Kerala and the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, are now documented in the recently published book "Ecohydrology of Kerala – River Catchments and Coastal Backwaters".
"It was fascinating to bring together all this information on the ecohydrology of Kerala in order to better understand the relevance of land-based human activities for sustainable development of coastal waters using a Source-to-Sea approach", says Tim Jennerjahn, one of the editors of the book and co-author of several chapters.
The book consists of 18 chapters that cover Kerala from the Western Ghats mountains in the east until the coastal backwaters in the west that connect the Kerala coast to the Arabian Sea.
Among others it contains a chapter on submarine groundwater discharge and nutrient fluxes by ZMT researchers Murugan Ramasamy and Nils Moosdorf and their Indian colleagues (Chapter 12, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323956062000176).
Tim Jennerjahn together with Indian colleagues and ZMT alumni contributed chapters on riverine particulate matter fluxes affected by a large pilgrim center and land use (Chapter 13, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323956062000188), on the trophic status of the estuarine Vembanad Lake (Chapter 14, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323956062000127), and on water governance issues (Chapter 18, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323956062000152).
The first chapter (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780323956062000061), written by all the co-editors, introduce the reader to the topic and the region and summarizes the findings. "All these years of collaboration with my co-editors and other colleagues have been an amazing journey through a variety of societally relevant research issues in a densely populated tropical coastal region", says Jennerjahn.
This book is part of the series "Ecohydrology from Catchment to Coast", which is edited by Eric Wolanski, Mike Elliott and Robert H. Richmond and published by Elsevier (https://www.elsevier.com/books-and-journals/book-series/ecohydrology-from-catchment-to-coast).
Here is what series editor Eric Wolanski says about the book:
"The new book by Salom Gnana Thanga Vincent and Tim Jennerjahn and other guest editors on the ecohydrology of the water-rich Kerala river basins in India has just appeared. It is part of 'my' book series "Ecohydrology from catchment to coast" with Mike Elliott and Bob Richmond (https://www.elsevier.com/en-au/books-and-journals/book-series/ecohydrology-from-catchment-to-coast). This book is a master piece. There are 18 chapters, all are study-intensive on various aspects of hydrology-ecology-remote sensing-nutrient rich agricultural runoff-water quality-hydrodynamics-geology-groundwater. The last chapter is especially powerful, a must read; it not only synthesises the chapters in the book but it also shows how river/estuarine/coastal management and the management of land use differs with different results in India, in Germany and in Indonesia; there is no universal rule for all rivers and estuaries. Basically, every river basin has a different ecohydrology and requires local scientific studies to understand how the system works and, based on that scientific knowledge, to determine what needs to be done to stop the on-going degradation (even in rich Germany!) and to restore sustainability for the benefit of the people and the environment!"
Book publication "Ecohydrology of Kerala - River Catchments and Coastal Backwaters“
Paperback ISBN: 9780323956062
eBook ISBN: 9780323956079
Print version: https://shop.elsevier.com/books/ecohydrology-of-kerala/vincent/978-0-323-95606-2
Electronic version: https://www.sciencedirect.com/book/9780323956062/ecohydrology-of-kerala
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