Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav on Saturday, September 10, inaugurated the first National Conference on Sustainable Coastal Management in India in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The Conference was focused on enhancing climate resilience of India’s coastal communities and discussion on steps that shall be taken towards coastal management. The Conference brought together officials from all 13 coastal states of India under one roof to focus on the three interrelated themes of coastal and marine biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation and coastal pollution.
Enhancing climate resilience of India’s coastal communities
‘Enhancing Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities’ (2019-2024) is a 6-year project, implemented by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change with support UNDP. The Project aims to enhance the climate resilience of the most vulnerable populations, particularly women, in the coastal areas of India.
Under the project, investments shall be made in ecological infrastructure to buffer against climate-induced hazards, especially storm surges, supporting climate-resilient coastal livelihoods, and enhancing climate-risk informed cross-sectoral planning and governance of the coastal zone. The project will also contribute towards the achievement of climate priorities outlined in India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change (2008), the State Action Plans, and commitments outlined in India’s Nationally Determined Contribution (2015). The project is supported by the Green Climate fund.
What is Green Climate Fund?
A global platform, Green Climate Fund (GCF), responds to climate change by investing in low-emission and climate-resilient development. Established by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in developing countries. It has been established to assist vulnerable societies adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change within the framework of the UNFCCC.
Integrating Mitigation & Adaptation
The Government is endeavouring towards creating a mechanism through which a system is built which mitigates, manages, tackles and adapts to climate issues. This requires the coming together and coordinated efforts of different working bodies including stakeholders, important sectors and institutions. For instance, if the government resolves to end plastic use by a certain time limit, the stakeholders that includes suppliers and entreprenuers, etc shall come up with alternatives of plastics; NGOs shall cooridnate in the efforts and so on.
Towards protection of coastal and marine biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation and coastal pollution, of stakeholders shall engage with each other on the topics, come up with cross-cutting themes such as coastal governance, technologies and innovation as well as domestic and international finance to address the climate and related issues. Sustainable coastal management is recognised as need of the hour. Data-driven policies and management frameworks, participatory conservation models, and convergence between stakeholders are the key pillars for effective coastal management.
Why Coastal areas need protection?
The Indian coastline is of immense strategic, economic and social importance to the country. Spanning 7,500 kilometres, it is the seventh longest in the world, and is home to 20 percent of the country’s population.
Indian coastline touches nine states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal and two Union Territories– Daman and Diu and Puducherry. The two island territories of India are– Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep Islands in the Arabian Sea. Three of our four metropolitan cities lie on the coast. These support a great diversity of ecosystems with more than 17,000 species of plants and animals. However, these coastal regions face the threat of climate change in form of coastal erosion. This also impacts the human population around the coast.
Government’s initiative Protecting Coastal Management
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) implements Centrally Sponsored Schemes namely, ‘National Plan for Conservation of Aquatic Eco-systems’ for conservation and management of wetlands; ‘Conservation and Management of Mangroves and Coral Reef’ for protection, conservation and management of mangroves and coral reef; and ‘Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for conservation and management of Protected Areas in the country.
It has also implemented Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), a World Bank Assisted project, in identified stretches of Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal from 2010 to 2020 with a purpose of protecting and conserving coastal and marine environment of the country. Further, the MoEFCC approved the proposal for National Coastal Management Programme under Direct Budgetary Support of ₹87 Crores for the FY 2021-22 to 2025-26.The budgetary allocation for the purpose for FY 2019-20, FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 is ₹ 75 Crores, ₹61 Crores and ₹22 Crores respectively.