Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes Studies from India, China, and the United States (2001) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5. Population and Land Use in Kerala
5. Population and Land Use in Kerala
Pages 79-106
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 79... ...
It is bounded on the east by a geological escarpment running roughly northwest to southeast parallel to the coast known as the Western Chats, on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the south by the state of Tamil Nadu, and on the north by the state of Karnataka (Figure 5-1~. Located in the southwestern fringes of the Western Chats, Kerala is characterized by an asymmetrical topography.
|
From page 80... ...
~o~hikode i' \ '__J WMaTappuram ~ ,_J \ -- -1 it, ~ i, _ ~.~-~ ~~J A) '' Palakkad ~ ram ~ _L— \ ~~.~, TAMIL NADU -?
|
From page 81... ...
SOURCE: Resource Atlas, Centre for Earth Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. cent of the total area.
|
From page 82... ...
In the highland region, with its ranges of steep hills, altitudes range from 75 to 750 meters above mean sea level. This region constitutes about 43 percent of the state's landmass; it is covered with forests and drained by small streams.
|
From page 83... ...
This trend continued during the 1980s, with a net migration rate of 0.31 percent. Fertility and Mortality Rates The birth and fertility rates of Kerala have declined consistently over the last 40 years (see Table 5-1 for a summary of the state's birth, fertility, death, and infant mortality rates, as well as life expectancy)
|
From page 84... ...
The Sample Registration System has placed the crude death rate for the first half of the 1990s at around 6 per thousand. The infant mortality rate in Kerala has undergone a remarkable decline from 128 per thousand live births for 1951-1961 to 13 in the early 1990s.
|
From page 85... ...
Because the rise in job expectations resulting from increased education levels has not corresponded to an increase in employment opportunities within the state, Kerala suffers from very high unemployment. Indeed, approximately 10 percent of the India's total unemployed population is from Kerala.
|
From page 86... ...
Kerala's notable accomplishments in the health standards of its population are reflected in the state's low infant mortality rate, low maternal mortality rate, and high life expectancy. Contributing factors are an extensive network of health infrastructure, high female education levels, and general health consciousness and awareness.
|
From page 87... ...
According to Key Indicators of Rural Development, published in 1996 by the government of Kerala, the proportion of population living below the poverty line in Kerala declined from 46 percent in 1977, to 26.1 percent in 1984, to 16.4 percent in 1988. CHANGES IN LAND USE In view of the wide variation in physical settings and development patterns in Kerala, aggregate data at the state level do not capture the dynamic processes involved in the state's land use transformation.
|
From page 88... ...
The cultivation of tapioca also declined from 10 percent of the total cropped area in 1957 to less that 5 percent in 1996. The year 1975 is considered a major turning point in cropping patterns; the area used for rice cultivation reached its peak that year (Figure 5-3~.
|
From page 89... ...
The conversion of land used for rice cultivation to seasonal and perennial crops reflects a shift in cropping pattern, whereas the conversion of rice land to nonagricultural uses indicates changes brought about by population pressures and infrastructure development. When rice land was converted to nonagricultural uses, 44 percent was used for buildings
|
From page 90... ...
between 1970 to 1996 indicate that among the major crops grown in Kerala, rice registered the lowest price increase (Table 5-7~. The available empirical evidence thus clearly indicates that the price changes of rice relative to those of other crops, higher cultivation costs, labor-management issues, and the shift of land to meet population needs, such as housing and infrastructure, were some of the factors that induced conversion of rice land.
|
From page 91... ...
1990. Cropping Pattern Changes and Employment Effects in Selected Districts of Kerala.
|
From page 92... ...
The loss of rice fields to clay mining also results in a decline in the groundwater recharging capacity of the area. Moreover, mining clay upstream and in the middle area of irrigation projects adversely affects water retention capacity.
|
From page 93... ...
intradistrict movement from the midland to highland regions of Travancore. Travancore-Malabar Migration The movement of population from Travancore to Malabar began in the 1930s.
|
From page 94... ...
They then gradually moved on to growing perennial commercial crops. In most cases, the migrants acquired cultivable wasteland or forestland and converted it to land suitable for cultivation.
|
From page 95... ...
Although the ratio of females to males was greater than one for Kerala generally, the ratio of females to males was lowest 966 and 975 females per thousand males, respectively in the Wayanad and Idukki Districts, where the inmigrant population was mostly male. Deforestation Migration may have contributed to Kerala's balanced regional development by improving the productive capacity of the highland region and it may have enhanced the incomes of small farmers, but it also led to ecological imbalance in the high ranges because of the link between the influx of farmers and deforestation.
|
From page 96... ...
~ ~ _ ~ ~ AL red ~— rep 1 id_ . — FIGURE 5-4 Population growth, Idukki District, 1971-1991.
|
From page 97... ...
images from 1992 reveal a progressive decline in natural vegetation cover in the Idukki District from 88 percent in 1905 to 20 percent in 1992. The area devoted to agricultural plantations and settlements has increased from 16 percent (based on a survey carried out from 1913 to 1928)
|
From page 98... ...
In the highlands of Kerala with its rugged topography and heavy rainfall, forests reduce the peak flow and prolong the duration of flow, thereby reducing surface runoff. Deforestation causes rapid runoff from catchment areas, as well as frequent flash floods in downstream areas.
|
From page 99... ...
This decline continues despite restrictions imposed by the government against conversion of wetland, which have been earmarked as the "Green Belt." In urban areas generally, the urban influence is spreading to surrounding rural areas, and the rural-urban distinction is diminishing at a fast pace. In the Thiruvananthapuram City Region, for example, rice fields accounted for 11 percent of the total area in 1966 (Figure 5-5)
|
From page 100... ...
The rice fields located near the national highways, state highways, and minor roads are more prone to conversion than ones in outlying areas. The satellite images clearly show that land use within the urban area and the adjoining rural areas are undergoing significant changes.
|
From page 101... ...
These studies indicate that We pollution problem is closely associated Huh land use practices. Me Centre for Earth Science Studies' under Me aegis of the national Department of Ocean Development' regularly monitors coastal maters at various locations.
|
From page 102... ...
The residual nitrates have contributed to water quality problems. Pollution attributed to fertilizer and pesticide residues is reported in the Alappuzha-Kottayam area, and the algal blooms observed in rice fields are possibly associated with an increase in nitrate levels (Mary Kutty, 1996~.
|
From page 103... ...
On its agricultural lands, Kerala has witnessed major changes in cropping patterns, especially a substantial decline in the area used for rice and cassava cultivation and an increase in coconut and rubber cultivation. State policies on taxation, coupled with lax enforcement of regulations prohibiting the conversion of rice land to other purposes, have accelerated the process of rice land conversion.
|
From page 104... ...
Population growth also has led to the conversion of rice land to, among other things, clay mining for brick making. Clay mining contributes to a decline in the groundwater recharging capacity and in the water-retention capacity of the soil.
|
From page 105... ...
1940. Travancore Land Revenue Manual.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.