The coral reefs of Rameshwaram are an important part of the sacred geography. They also have a great evolutionary history. They provide a prominent support for the Gulf of Mannar biodiversity. However today they are facing many threats mainly due to the pollution and global warming. We provide a glimpse into some interesting aspects of the Rameshwaram coral reefs. The coral reefs have been there for millions of years. Home to many organisms the marine biodiversity is heavily dependent on the coral reefs and they had also protected the population from the 2004 Tsunami. Hence we need to protect them. This is an effort to make people aware of their importance and the need to conserve them.
We also have the message from the project chairman on Green Rameshwaram Mr. Ravi Sam in the third brain storming session that was held on Oct-11 at Rameshwaram. The district collector, the municipal chairman, forest officer, wildlife warden and many eminent citizens graced the event. Many suggestions were made and important decisions as well as new pathways have been designed to be followed for achieving Green Rameshwaram. Solar installation to removal of Prosopis juliflora have been discussed. The issue of signages and beautification of the places were also discussed. You can find about all those discussions in the newsletter.
It is our misunderstanding and partial understanding of the nature of the world –fragmentation that has led the world to the brink. Our eco-toons bring this out. Also see the various happenings, training programmes that took place in our campus during this month. In our wisdom section we have the physicist Menas Kafatos elaborates the importance of dialogue as essential for accepting positive change and uniting humanity beyond variations. Ecologist Madhav Gadgil speaks about how traditional socities are characterized by a number of conditions conducive to the evolution of a "community of beings" world-view; Historian of science Robert Nadeau explains how the primary objective of the ecological economists is to enlarge the framework of the neoclassical economic paradigm to include scientifically valid measures of the environmental costs of economic activities.
