Download Slide 1

National Policy dialogue on Climate Change Actions
Pat 1
Coastal Areas
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation
Chennai
Coastal zone of India - already facing serious
environmental and social issues
1.0
Improper Land use
Industrial estates, SEZs, urban development, conversion of agri.
land to housing units, Unsustainable aquaculture,
port development, tourism facilities and infrastructure
2.0
Pollution
Industries and domestic
3.0
Stalinization of land and water
Overexploitation of ground water, unsustainable aquaculture,
saline water intrusion – storm surges
4.0
Overexploited coastal fishery resources
4.0
Natural Disasters
Anticipated scenario due to sea level rise
IPCC: 50 cm by 2100 with local variation from 88 to 90 cm
India: SLR 15 to 35 cm by 2050; 46 to 59 cm by 2010
altered tide
+3
PERMANENTLY
INCREASED
SEA LEVEL
+2
+1
0
M
-1
-2
Low tide
-3
Area that will be permanently submerged in seawater
Area that is going to be saline due to be inundated by tidal water
Anticipated Impact s due to sea level rise
Biophysical condition
O
Inundation of low lying coastal lands with sea water
- millions of ha of land would be affected
- small islands would be affected very severely
O
Increased incidence of storm surges and higher storm surges
flooding
O
Accelerated coastal erosion
O
Seawater intrusion into freshwater and groundwater
O
Enhancement of tidal waters into rivers
Anticipated Impact s due to sea level rise
Impacts on Socio economic situation
O
Increase loss of property and coastal habitats
O
Increased flood risk and potential loss of life
O
Damage to coastal infrastructure
O
Loss of renewable and subsidence resources
O
Decline in soil and water quality and its impact on agriculture
O
Increased disease risk
Coastal Saline Soils in India – Present and Future
SLR 15 to 35 cm by 2050
State
West Bengal
Gujarat
Orissa
Andhra Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Karnataka
Maharashtra
Kerala
Goa
Pondicherry
A and N ilsand
Current
saline
affected area
(ha) – 1988?
820000
714000
400000
276000
100000
86000
64000
26000
18000
1000
15000
2520000
Anticipated saline
area due SLR (ha)
122000
181000
48000
55000
67000
29000
41000
12000
16000
6000
577000
3.10 million ha
-saline soil
-formed due to
marine influence
and tidal inundation
-not because of
secondary salinization
Adaptive responses to SLR – IPCC Model
RETREAT
ACCOMODATION
PROTECTION
involves no effort to protect the land from
the sea. The coastal zone is abandoned
and ecosystems shift landward. This
choice can be motivated by excessive
economic or environmental impacts of
protection. In the extreme case, an entire
area may be abandoned.
implies that people continue to use
the land at risk but do not attempt to
prevent the land from being flooded. This
option includes erecting emergency flood
shelters, elevating buildings on piles,
converting agriculture to fish farming, or
growing flood or salt tolerant crops.
Protection involves hard structures such as
sea walls and dikes, as well as soft
solutions such as dunes and vegetation, to
protect the land from the sea so that
existing land uses can continue
Strategies – based in field experience of MSSRF
Protection Response
Strategy 1:
Restoring and conserving and creating natural protective
coastal ecosystems such as mangroves and enhance
their bioresources -
Accommodation Response
Strategy 2:
Developing and demonstrating seawater or brackish
water based agro-aqua farming system that integrates
growing of salt-tolerant plants and fish, prawn and crab.
Strategy 3:
Identification of new sources of commercially valuable
crops from salt-loving wild halophytes and developing
biosaline agriculture methods to grow them in large scale
in saline affected areas
1.0
Mangrove – first line of defense
IPCC considers mangrove as first line of defense and soft solution to SLR
O
Mangrove plants have the capacity to trap sediment
O
Trapped sediment along with vegetation form living platforms
O
These living platforms adjust to changing sea level since rise in
sea level in a year is comparatively small;
O
it is possible only under two conditions
Sediment supply from river discharge should not be
stopped
Mangrove forest should be disturbed
Canal plantation
O
Open sea intertidal area plantati0n
Open sea intertidal plantation
HT
LT
O
Conservation and restoration of mangroves is a priority area
O
Well developed model to restore mangroves available
O
Community centered Joint Mangrove Management to restore and
conserve mangroves has already been demonstrated at pilot scale
O
This can be continued as a measure to combat SLR
2.0
Integrated Mangrove Fishery Farming System
O
Mangrove plantation raised along with fish culture in a modified aqua-farm
O
Taking care of livelihood and ecological need
O
Suitable for all kinds of saline soil; can be used to restore abandoned
shrimp farms
O
Sustainable
B
U
N
D
Fish/
Crab
Design 1
Zero energy
Tidal fed ponds
No artificial feed
Tidal water
No chemicals
Design 2
Tidal Outlet
Water spread area for fish culture
Tidal Inlet
NO energy
NO artificial feed
NO chemicals
Halophytes can also grown
as cash crops on the mounds
Slopes of the mounds for
mangrove plantation
Integrated Mangrove-Halophyte-Fishery Farming System – proto type
3.0
Seawater farming with halophytes as a new source crops

Halophytes are salt-loving plants – growing only in high saline areas

Tolerate high concentration of sodium salt; demand high sodium chloride
for survival and reproduction

Multiple-origin - they differ widely in salinity tolerance
5 g/l -Sea oats (Hordeum vulgare)
70 g/l -Glasswort (Salicornia bigalovii)

1560 species

Can be grown as a cash crop by irrigating with seawater
edible oil, vegetables, flowers, medicinal plants, fodder crops
Salicornia brachiata
High saline tolerant
~ 70 g/l
Seeds
Edible oil
Protein
Fiber
28%
31%
5%
Salicornia europaea
High saline tolerant
70 to 80 g/l
Edible
Used widely
as salad or
accompaniment of
seafood In Europe
Atriplex
High saline tolerant
High drought tolerant
Tolerant to water logging
Fodder – highly favored by
sheep – recover quickly
after grazing
Batis maritima
High saline tolerant
Seed contains high
quantities of proteins,
oils and starches
“Extremely nutritious”
Limonium
Examples of halophytes
that can be grown as
Garden flowers
Everlasting flowers
Inula crithmoides
Tidal fed seawater
irrigation system
Coastal Areas – Key Questions
1. What are the key potential impacts of Climate Change in the coastal
areas, both positive and negative?
2. What are the priority tasks for addressing the climate impacts on
coastal areas?
3. What are present and emerging approaches to deal with climate
change in the coastal region, accommodating both adaptation and
development (for ensuring food, DRR, livelihood, water, energy and
social security of communities)?
4. What kinds of systems are required for effective execution of existing
and future policies in the coastal climate adaptation context?
a. Institutional Mechanisms
b. Financial Mechanisms
c. R&D
d. Role of key stakeholders (communities, private, government,
global)