Kusum Vyas’ Global Quest Secures Sacred Site Nomination for Gulf of Mannar, South of India
Last updated: December 19, 2008

HOUSTON: The story of Kusum Vyas, a Houston resident is exactly the kind of narrative many people would envy, explore or applaud - an exceptional woman from a very unusual part of the world who has dedicated her life and used her determination and force of character to put herself and her cause on the international stage.

Kusum Vyas was instrumental in organizing the first international meeting calling for the Gulf of Mannar to be designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The meeting was held at the historic Linnean Society of London from 25 – 26 November 2008. Linnean Society is where 150 years ago Charles Darwin, first presented his thesis about his theory of Evolution.

Kusum Vyas may not be a household name around the world - but she has been singularly effective in getting a panel of top experts to come together for the two-day meeting in London. The meeting attracted members from several organizations from around the world.

The overwhelming conclusion of the experts gathered at the Linnean was that the Gulf of Mannar has outstanding universal value as a biodiversity hotspot, as well as being a place of deep religious and sacred significance, and should remain intact for future generations.

On the first day of the London meeting, the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC) made the dramatic announcement that it would be seeking to have the Gulf of Mannar designated as one of the world’s first internationally recognized ‘Sacred Sites.’

Following agreements reached at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Barcelona last month, ‘Sacred Site’ is a now an international term of protection for sites that are spiritually, religiously, culturally and ecologically important.
Martin Palmer, Secretary General of ARC, and religion and ecology advisor made the announcement of nomination for Sacred Site status to His Royal Highness the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

Sacred Site nomination by ARC can only advance the cause for which Kusum Vyas has been fighting for the past 4 years - protecting the Gulf of Mannar and those whose lives are threatened by the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project. As she said recently: “It’s been a long haul and a daunting task to get the message out.

When you’re working with limited resources and from a place that is thousands of miles away from the Gulf of Mannar, there aren’t very many people who even know who you are or what you’re facing.”
Kusum Vyas feels that the nomination gives a deserving boost to the Campaign as it has generated additional publicity and support from several quarters. “I believe that the Gulf of Mannar should be protected and respected as a Sacred Site.
We are the custodians of what we find here during our time. We do not have the right to destroy everything in the name of development. Some things are priceless and must be left for every generation after us to enjoy as well.

When the Taliban destroyed the Bamiyan statues, the world reacted with horror at their act of barbarism. What the Indian Government proposes to do to the Gulf of Mannar is no less barbaric.”

Kusum Vyas is calling upon Dr. Rajendra K. Pachauri, Chair of the Nobel Prize Winning UN Panel on Climate Change to press upon the government of India to realize that with the Gulf of Mannar designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, the government can leave a lasting legacy of reinvigorated hope for saving our cultural heritage and the Earth’s fragile environment for our future generations.

As Head of the newly constituted six-member experts committee appointed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explore an alternative alignment for the SSCP, Dr. Pachauri is in a unique position to influence history in an a significant way.

In 2004, Kusum Vyas founded the Living Planet Foundation, a Houston based non-profit organization that supports projects that concern the Earth’s environment and campaigns against destruction of cultural heritage sites.

Kusum Vyas has traveled extensively around the world to create environmental awareness.

To that end she delivered the keynote address at the seminar “Save Gulf of Mannar” sponsored by the Bali-India Foundation during the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali last December.

Listen to her, and you will hear about the green turtles, the sea snakes and the dugongs of the Gulf of Mannar, about the beautiful temples of Bali, about illegal poaching and land encroachment in Nairobi National Park, about turtle trekking in Sri Lanka, about illegal mining of the sacred Braj Hills, about lack of sanitation and health facilities in slums of Abidjan, about golf ball sized snails for example - so strange that the Swahili language does not have words for them!
Working non-stop round the clock for the past several months, using her own savings and giving up her job and business aspirations so she could focus on the Gulf of Mannar Campaign, Kusum Vyas has managed to achieve a historic first that can only win her more accolades.

The Sacred Site nomination is a substantial victory, which Kusum Vyas takes with humility, but it will certainly guarantee the kind of attention she needs if the Gulf of Mannar - and perhaps the planet - is to survive and thrive.