As Lakshadweep Interest Peaks, Experts Appeal For Responsible Tourism To Protect Its Coral Reefs

Lakshadweep's stunning pictures mask the precarious state of its environment, particularly the coral reefs-making it important for the government to mandate and ensure responsible tourism practices and also continuously monitor the fragile ecosystem of the archipelago.

The Lakshadweep archipelago, comprising 35 islands (of which 10 are inhabited) has witnessed four major El Nino Southern Oscillation-related temperature anomalies in the past two decades (1998, 2010, 2016 and 2019), and three catastrophic cyclones in the last four years (Ockhi, Maha and Tauktae) resulting in widespread coral bleaching and mortality, the Lakshadweep Research Collective, a team of ecologists and marine biologists said in a letter to then-president Ram Nath Kovind in 2021, responding to the administration's publication of the draft Lakshadweep Development Authority Regulation of 2021(LDAR).

The group, 60 scientists and researchers, asked the President to withdraw the draft LDAR 2021 which sought to develop the islands as a major tourist destination, underlining that the region's unique geography, ecology, and long human history placed natural limits on the kinds of development the archipelago can support. The draft has been put on hold since, but the constraints remain the same something that needs to be kept in mind at a time when interest in Lakshadweep as a tourist destination is peaking.

The interest follows a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, intemperate responses to his tweets on the visit by junior ministers from the Maldives, a social media storm featuring influencers from both countries, and a diplomatic spat that saw the Maldivian ministers in question being suspended. On Monday, media reports said India is proceeding with plans to build a new military and civilian airport in Minicoy.

Lakshadweep's appeal comes from its surrounding reefs, the living coral framework and the lagoon it encloses-but these also serve a function. Together, they buffer the islands from waves, storms, land loss and saline ingress into groundwater, the scientists wrote in their letter. But the reef is under threat