Economic Value of Major Lakes in Coimbatore City

Abstract

Lakes are recognized as freshwater resources in rural and urban areas. In the last few decades, lakes situated vicinity of cities are rapidly degraded due to lack of maintenance and economic development. Lakes areas were encroached, converted into buildings and house plots because and people were not aware of the intrinsic value of lakes. Coimbatore is one of the tier II cities in India, it has several lakes in and around the city limits. In 2016, Coimbatore is one of the city selected under the smart city mission. Under the Smart City mission, Coimbatore city municipal corporation restores the water bodies. But, lakes around household activities and lake visitor’s activities affect the lake quality and ecosystem. The main reason was the people were not aware about the intrinsic value of lakes. Therefore, this study estimates the total economic value of ecosystem services derived from major lakes in Coimbatore city. The total hectare of major 9 lakes was647.61 ha and its ecosystem services value was 608.36 crores/year. Kurichi lake has the highest catchment area, its ecosystem services value was 127 crores per year. The monetary value of lakes makes awareness about the significance of lakes ecosystem services and people are co-operate with lakes restoration activities.