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In the pristine coral atolls of Lakshadweep, where turquoise lagoons meet fragile reefs, a huge crisis is unfolding. From Minicoy to Kavaratti, plastic waste – from bottles and wrappers to fishing gear – is choking the islands, turning once-idyllic beaches and lagoons into hotspots of plastic pollution. The biggest culprits of the plastic pollution were found to be public littering from tourism and recreational activities on the islands.
Multiple studies by professors and researchers from the Department of Marine Biology at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) show that the islands face an alarming spread of microplastics across both inhabited and uninhabited islands, threatening marine life, coral health, and the very livelihoods of communities that depend on this delicate ecosystem.
With waste piling up, incinerators rusting, and tourism on the rise, Lakshadweep’s unique coral atolls face a mounting environmental emergency that demands urgent action.
The studies point out that the waste management system in the islands is very poor and needs immediate attention. P Hari Praved, senior researcher at CUSAT, who, along with his Professor Bijoy Nandan, led the study, told TNM, “The inhabited islands generate waste equally, just like the mainland. But the waste management system is insufficient in a large way. Waste segregation is all happening through women self-help groups, but it's insufficient. The incinerators are all rusted. The issue is severe there.”
According to him, the increased focus on tourism development in the islands adds to the risk, creating an urgent need to strengthen the waste management system.
He added, “Pollution levels are similar on many inhabited and uninhabited islands, highlighting a dangerous situation. Any organisms that come into contact with these plastic particles risk entanglement or ingestion, which can cause serious injuries. This poses a high threat to marine ecology.”
Though the Central Pollution Control Board states there are no landfills in Lakshadweep, the study points out, “A large dumpsite was found on Minicoy Island. Additionally, non-degradable waste at most collection centres is accumulating due to poorly scheduled and inefficient transportation to authorised recyclers on the mainland.”
Immense loading of microplastics
Lakshadweep, where only ten islands are inhabited by around 64,500 people, is part of the Maldives-Lakshadweep-Chagos Archipelago tropical moist forests ecoregion, consisting of 12 atolls, three reefs, and five submerged banks. Surrounded by lagoons and coral reefs covering 4,200 square kilometres, the islands’ flat coral reefs, rarely exceeding two metres, are composed of compacted coral sand and boulders.
A recent study, “Unravelling the invisible threat of microplastics to Lakshadweep Coral Atolls, Indian Ocean: Multifaceted ecological risk and pollution profiling” by P Hari Praved, Suraj Ravindran, P Sreeraj, SR Marigoudar, KV Neethu, and S Bijoy Nandan of CUSAT, builds on earlier research highlighting plastic pollution across the islands. The study says, “Micro Plastics (MP) were detected in all surface water and sediment samples collected from the lagoon areas of six reef atolls in the Lakshadweep Islands, highlighting the extensive prevalence of MPs pollution within the coral reef ecosystems of this region.”
The study pointed out that Lakshadweep's coral reefs, rich in Scleractinian corals (hard-bodied corals which are responsible for the formation of coral reef systems across the planet), face severe threats from climate change, pollution, coastal development, and overfishing. “MPs, emerging global pollutants, pose ecological risks yet remain understudied here. This study, among the first across multiple Lakshadweep islands, reveals widespread MP presence driven by poor waste management, tourism, and fishing.”
It said that MPs harm marine life through ingestion, entanglement, and toxic additives, stressing coral reef health.
The study sampled 24 sites across six inhabited atolls—Kavaratti, Agatti, Kadmat, Amini, Minicoy, and Kalpeni—with four sampling locations in each.
MPs were detected in all surface water and sediment samples, “highlighting the extensive prevalence of MPs pollution within the coral reef ecosystems of this region.” Morphological analysis showed that fragments and fibres dominated MPs, with polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) being the most common polymer, pointing to land-based and fishing-related sources.
Satellite and oceanographic data reveal seasonal patterns of MP accumulation driven by monsoon currents, with the Lakshadweep Sea emerging as a hotspot due to converging surface flows. The study emphasises that there is an urgent need for improved waste management, stricter enforcement of single-use plastic bans, and community-led conservation initiatives in Lakshadweep. Using ocean surface microplastics (MPs) concentration data from the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System for June 2019–June 2020, researchers extracted MPs from water and sediment by removing organic matter and performing density separation.
“These findings underscore the urgent need for improved waste management, stricter enforcement of single-use plastic bans, and community-led conservation initiatives in Lakshadweep. Immediate attention is necessary to assess the impacts of MPs on coral environments, particularly regarding their physical and chemical transformation and subsequent trophic transfer within coral reef food webs,” it says.
The alarming microplastic findings build on an earlier, detailed study published in February 2025, “Multidimensional risk assessment of marine litter pollution in the ecologically fragile coral atolls of India.” Conducted across Kavaratti, Agatti, Amini, Kadmat, and Minicoy, the study assessed 28 beaches of Lakshadweep to determine their marine litter status and provide crucial baseline data on anthropogenic environmental pollution in the coral habitat.
The results revealed that plastic materials dominate the study area, comprising 63.7% of the total litter, followed by paper (12.3%), metal (5.4%), and fabrics (3.9%). When it comes to sources, the study found that “the primary source of marine litter is public littering, largely from tourism and recreational activities (43%), followed by non-sourced items (31%), shipping (10%), and fishing (9%)”. High public littering levels were recorded on Kavaratti (50%), Minicoy (45%), and Agatti (42%), while Kadmat showed a higher shipping-related litter proportion (13%) and Amini demonstrated elevated fishing litter (17%). Overall, 54.3% of marine litter was identified as land-based, 27.5% as marine-origin, and 18.2% of uncertain origin.
The study also highlighted the persistence of floating plastic, noting that “plastic items such as bags, bottles, wrappers, foam, and fishing gear stay afloat for long periods and make up most of the marine litter in the Lakshadweep Islands, which is 69% of the total litter”. Hari Praved explained, “In the objects that float, they have the highest chance to turn into microplastics. They are the ones most exposed to UV radiation and sunlight. So these minute specifics on what type of plastic are important.” Kadmat, in particular, exhibited a higher proportion of floating plastics at 72.5%.
The researchers stressed that “implementing preventive, mitigating, and curative measures to reduce litter pollution exposure and safeguard the coral ecosystem ultimately benefits island communities, as their sustenance relies heavily on this ecosystem”. They anticipate that these findings “are expected to aid the Lakshadweep administration and policymakers in formulating timely strategies to manage marine litter pollution effectively and conserve ecologically significant coral atoll habitats.”
Building on the earlier findings, a combined study by researchers from CUSAT and Kerala University, titled “Marine litter pollution in inhabited and uninhabited Lakshadweep islands, Indian Ocean”, further underscores the scale of plastic pollution in the archipelago. Conducted by Harichandran Prasitha Nisanth, Hari Praved Punnakkal, Abhilash Sukumarapillai, and Appukuttannair Biju Kumar, the research was carried out in Agatti, Bangaram, Kavaratti, Pakshi Pitti, Perumal Par, and Thinnakkara.
The study says, “Plastic litter was the most common type of debris found across the surveyed Lakshadweep islands, comprising 82.9% of the total debris.”
Among these, plastic beverage bottles (PBB) were the most common, accounting for 24% of total plastic waste, followed by food wrappers (13.2%), caps (9.5%), and other plastics (8.9%). To assess pollution severity, the study used the Plastic Abundance Index (PAI), which quantifies the proportion of plastic relative to total litter surveyed, classifying beaches based on pollution intensity. The PAI values ranged from 1 to 8.15, with an average of 5.39, indicating a high plastic abundance on Lakshadweep beaches.
"Among the six surveyed islands, one (16.7%) fell into the 'high risk' category, another (16.7%) was classified as 'dangerous’, and the remaining four islands (66.6%) were categorised as ‘extremely dangerous’.
In this study, severe marine pollution was observed across the Lakshadweep islands, with 60% of surveyed locations classified as ‘extremely dirty’. Plastic debris accounted for 82.9% of the total litter, posing a high ecological risk.
Hari added, “The islands are under threat, with plastics entangling the coral reefs. The Lakshadweep archipelago is the only place in India with coral atolls. While coral reefs exist elsewhere in India, these are the only true coral atolls.” A coral atoll is a ring-shaped island made of coral surrounding a central lagoon.
The crisis came to a head in early September 2025, when a massive waste dump on Minicoy Island caught fire, engulfing the island in thick, toxic smoke and spreading pollution across nearby lagoons. The blaze exposed years of neglected waste management, with tonnes of plastic, metal, and e-waste piled up in open areas. Lakshadweep’s other islands face similar challenges. As per reports, around 4,000 tonnes of dry waste remain uncollected due to delays in transporting it to the mainland, turning the region’s famed beauty into a growing environmental crisis.