Their seagrass restoration efforts earn them US fellowship

Visakhapatnam: Months of hard work and consistent efforts of four final year BSc (Bio-technology, Microbiology and Chemistry) students T Harshitha, A Tejaambik, J Karthikeya Narayana and M Ashwini eventually paid dividends as their research on pioneering blue carbon ecosystems restoring seagrass meadows earned them a US fellowship programme.

Their project on restoring seagrass meadows in Visakhapatnam coast has been selected in the competition carried out by the Climate Tank Accelerator competition, a collaborative endeavour of the Student Society for Climate Change Awareness (SSCCA) and Seeds of Peace USA.

The selected students from Dr Lankapalli Bullayya College in Visakhapatnam are set to fly to the US on a 10-day-long fellowship programme next month to study their project further.

The team members say that the fellowship programme will provide them a platform to interact with climate experts, NGO representatives, exchange best practices followed by a tour to universities.

Found commonly in Chilika Lake in Odisha, Pulicat Lake, Sri Lanka and Port Blair, the traces of the seagrass witnessed over 30 percent decline of its coverage in recent times in Chilika Lake.

As part of the project, the team picked two seagrass species – Halophila Ovalis and Halodule Pinifolia from Chilika Lake and cultivated them in the lab by facilitating necessary climatic conditions. “We also replanted them in the coastal area near Mangamaripeta to check how the seagrass propagules thrive in new areas. And our joy knew no bounds when signs of maturity started to shoot a couple of months later,” says Harshitha.

However, several factors such as coastal water and its level, seaweed ex-tracts used for fertilizer and weather conditions have to be considered while propagating seagrass. Apart from meeting academic targets, equal focus was paid on handling the project effectively, explain the team members.

After wrapping up their trip to the US, the team intends to plant the seagrass along various stretches of the Vizag coast in varying depths. “For the project, we planted seagrass in 8-mt depth. Next, it will be planted 4mt and 6mt deep too. Also, we are planning to experiment with the seagrass plantation at home and college campus so that multiple interventions could be considered to propagate the seagrass as it serves as an effective carbon sink,” elaborates Harshitha. Even as their project began last year, the team members say that they feel honoured to be selected for the competition held for five South Asian Countries, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Ne-pal.

“Representing our country on this prestigious platform is certainly a privilege and reinforces our responsibility towards the health of our planet,” Harshitha, Tejaambik, Karthikeya Narayana and Ashwini share with The Hans India.

The Visakhapatnam coast was once favourable to seagrass meadows. But it was a long back story. Apparently, urban, industrial and coastal development along with unregulated aquaculture activities pose a serious threat to seagrass meadows and their ecosystem. With efforts to restore the seagrass ecosystem not proving to be enough, the team, supported by Assistant Professor in Department of Environmental Sciences B Madhavi, Principal GSK Chakravarty along with Secretary and Correspondent G Madhu Kumar, intends to take the project to the next level.

Considering meaningful action, the team plans to intensify its seagrass restoration efforts through community engagements in schools and colleges and building awareness among fishermen and sea divers.