Vetiver...it's not just for the birds.

This feed by G. Mahadevan of The Hindu just in from Kerala, India, the birthplace of Vetiver. Our favorite plant will take a lead role in stabilizing a lake and creating a forest-like environment for birds:

Polluted and stagnant water, crumbling banks and dwindling fauna may soon be a thing of the past at the lakes inside the Thiruvananthapuram zoo. The old-world charm of the 3.5-acre lake is being recreated as part of a substantial cleaning and beautification project being implemented by the Centre for Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD).

The de-silting of the small lake at the zoo has already started. The silt from the small lake and the large, 3.5-acre one, will be deposited at the island in the middle of the latter. Clumping bamboo and Vetiver (Raamacham) will be planted along the perimeter to prevent soil erosion. In addition to purifying the air, Vetiver plants also soak up heavy metals present in the lake’s water, COSTFORD director P.B. Sajan told The Hindu.

Varieties of fish endemic to the State, and quickly reproducing, will be introduced in the water body to ensure an adequate supply of food for the large number of birds, including migratory ones, that visit the lake every day. The 1.5-acre patch of land that straddles the lake and the zoo’s boundary wall will be densely planted with trees, creepers and climbers.

The idea is to create a forest-like environment for the birds to rest and nest. Visitors will not be permitted to access this part of the lake.

An observation deck and a tower will allow visitors to see the birds at their natural best. While the deck will jut out into the lake to allow visitors to see the fish, the tower will be tall enough to allow a clear view of the lake’s island. The designs of the deck and the tower will complement the lake’s ambience.

As part of the project, rainwater that now drains from the zoo compound will be directed to a settling pond near the small lake, and then flow to the small lake. Water will enter the city’s drainage system only when the large lake overflows. Intermittent flow of rainwater through the two lakes will keep their waters fresh. A spring that feeds the small lake has temporarily been diverted to facilitate de-silting activities.

Once the lakes are cleaned and beautified a fishpond—with a fountain—encircled by benches and seats, will be created on the lawns near the Museum’s Corporation gate. This will replace the present visitor center, which is the bandstand opposite the Museum compound. March 2010 is the targeted completion deadline, Mr. Sajan adds.

A Tale of Two Islands, one w/Vetiver, one w/o: Vanuatu and Molokai

This follows on the heels of 5/31/09 front page articles in Honolulu's two major newspapers, Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin, addressing the suffocation of Molokai's reef. Unfortunately, both articles gave solutions short shrift, and cursorily presented fences as a solution. Appallingly absent was mention of the use of vegetative barriers to halt the flow of sediment to the ocean--a low-cost, highly effective, permanent solution to the problem.

How do we know this?

Because we can evaluate the results of a decade-long effort in Vanuatu, whose problems mirrored those of present-day Molokai. From 1995 to 2002, Don Miller, an experienced erosion expert, led a band of dedicated local volunteers armed with sacks of Vetiver slips into Vanuatu's southern gullies, where they systematically installed rows of plants into weathered volcanic tuff and breccia on grades of approximately 35degrees where no plantings had survived. When awash in heavy rains, the bare slopes were dumping high volumes of silt onto nearby coral reefs.

Although the erosion control project was closed down shortly after the installations (the government cited "lack of funds"), the good work had been done. Vetiver slips and indigenous plantings grew into semi-permeable hedges that filtered out sediment before it reached the island's coastal waters and the reef.

Today the Fisheries Department reports dramatically improved conditions on the reefs down current from areas that have been stabilized by established Vetiver hedges for several years. Large volumes of sediment have been retained and some areas now boast a nearly-complete cover of indigenous shrubs on previously infertile, bare, eroding land. Along with the reef, the shellfish industry has recovered, and ni-Vanuatuan fishermen are happy--and grateful.

Could this success story be repeated in Hawaii? Absolutely. Success requires completion of four steps: coordination by stakeholders (landlords and land-users), an installation plan, Vetiver plants, and installers. Whaddya say, eh?! Call me: 808-536-5444. I'll answer.

To see Don Miller's remarkable work on Vanuatu, visit vetiver.org and enter Vanuatu Vetiver to access Don's Picassa gallery.