Tradeoff between the coastal wetland and interlinked ecosystem services: A case of Kazhuveli Coastal Wetland, India

Wetlands in India are an interconnected environment, complex, and a significant contributor to biodiversity and other living beings. Understanding the dynamics of spatial planning, preservation and conservation is becoming challenging for the authorities due to the overlap of their functions and services. Set against this backdrop, the present study was carried out to map the component-wise outputs of ecosystem services and their interlinkages of the Kazhuveli wetland, located near Puducherry using SWOT (Strength Weakness Opportunity Threat) Analysis and Causal Loop Diagram (CLD). The data was generated from 12 community-based focused group discussions and 10 key informant interviews among community groups living around the wetland. The results show that no synchronization occurs amongst the key service users (farmers, salt pan owners, fishermen, shrimp farm owners, and local communities), leading to an extra burden on the wetland. Furthermore, the primary stakeholders highlighted that the presence of shrimp farms leads to groundwater depletion and deterioration of surface water quality, resulting in depressed salt production, decreased fish production, and scaled-down agricultural practices.