Backwater Tourism and Environmental Sustainability in Kerala: A Critical Study of Vembanad Ecosystem in Alappuzha District

Rahul Krishnan; S Ajitha

doi:10.53989/jcp.v4i4.25. 104

Article

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Journal of Contemporary Politics

DOI: 10.53989/jcp.v4i4.25. 104

Year: 2025, Volume: 4, Issue: 4, Pages: 186-191

Original Article

Backwater Tourism and Environmental Sustainability in Kerala: A Critical Study of Vembanad Ecosystem in Alappuzha District

Rahul Krishnan^1*, S Ajitha²

¹Research Scholar, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala, Kerala, India
²Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Kerala, Kerala, India

*Corresponding author
Rahul Krishnan
Email: [email protected]

Received Date:27 October 2025, Accepted Date:17 November 2025, Published Date:30 December 2025

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Vembanad Lake system is among the largest backwater systems in India, and centered around it, Kerala's backwater tourism has come to represent the state's cultural and economic character. However, the speed at which houseboat activities and the infrastructure that supports them have grown has led to observable ecological stress and social problems. Existing studies emphasize the sector's contribution to regional revenue, but they pay little attention to the ways that environmental deterioration and changes in local livelihoods interact within a broader sustainability framework. This study examines the environmental challenges emerging from houseboat-based tourism, its socio-economic repercussions for local communities, and governance responses to these transformations. The analysis is based on field-level observations made in the Alappuzha and Kumarakom regions between 2023 and 2024, policy documents, and secondary literature. In addition to documentary proof, first-hand conversations with boat operators, fishermen's families, and tourism officials yielded contextual information. Field observations confirm severe water-quality decline, loss of aquatic biodiversity, and conflicts between tourism operators and traditional fishers. While tourism has diversified income sources, benefits remain uneven, and unregulated expansion continues to strain the ecosystem. The study suggests a multi-level regulatory framework integrating local participation, strict waste-management protocols, and capacity-building for sustainable operation. Such Policies should protect both ecology and the livelihood of the region.

Keywords: Backwater Tourism, Vembanad Lake, Environmental Sustainability, Governance, Kerala

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