Over 40 per cent Indian coastline eroding: Expert

Over 40 per cent of the Indian coastline is eroding, higher than the previous estimate of about 36 per cent, a senior coastal management official said here today.
"This level (40 per cent) is a cause for concern, not only because it is higher than previous estimates but also because it calls for the need to address basic issues," Director, National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Climate Change, R Ramesh said, referring to studies done by them.
Addressing a consultative meeting on Coastal and Marine Zone Management held at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation, he said the basic issues included coastal environment degradation due to a host of human activities like pollution and promotion of tourism and unauthorised constructions abutting the coast.

Such issues needed to be addressed with the participation of multiple stakeholders, he said.
A coastal vulnerability and hazard mapping study would be submitted to the Central government and it will form the basis for regional coastal management, he added.
Rather than mandating a set of rules for coastal management across the country, the idea was to recommend region specific norms based on vulnerability and hazard mapping, he said.
Director, National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), M A Atmanand, laid emphasis on sustainable solutions along the coastline.
Professor M S Swaminathan said, "There is need to have management of coastal zone in an organised manner, both in the administrative sense, bringing various departments together and in also looking at this process in a much more scientific manner.