(This column first appeared in NDTV on October 28, 2021)
- Draped in a colourful saree and shirt, Lakshmi Murgesan dives into the azure waters off India’s southern coast to collect seaweed, which is being hailed by scientists as a miracle crop that absorbs more carbon dioxide than trees.
India is the world’s third largest carbon polluter, behind China and the US, and has yet to set a target date for its emissions to reach net zero. But authorities are looking into how seaweed farming could help reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions, reverse ocean acidification and improve the marine environment, as well as providing a sustainable livelihood for marginalised coastal communities. “I am doing this for my children… It requires a lot of hard work, but I am able to earn good profits from about four months of work,” said Murgesan, who makes 20,000 rupees ($265) each month farming the fibrous macroalgae. “I would not have been able to educate my children but after doing this, I could send my children to college,” she added, smiling as she emerged from the waters in Rameswaram, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu…
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