Case study - Odisha coastline

Question 1

Location

Answer 1

Eastern coast of India boadring the bay of Benga.

Question 2

How large is Odisha?

Numbers by state & population &km

Answer 2

9th largest in India by state
11th largest by population
480km of coastline

Question 3

Odisha population

Answer 3

46,663,000

Question 4

Odisha population density

Answer 4

270 persons per square kilometer

Question 5

Physical landscape of odisha?

Answer 5

• Relatively straight coastline (480km long)
• A few natural harbours and inlets
• The odisha coastal plain (narrow level coastal strip) - supports the bull of the population

Question 6

Why is odisha known as the Hexadeltaic region or the gift of six rivers?

Answer 6

Odisha has 6 deltas on the odisha coast
(

Question 7

Odishas coastal landmaine

Answer 7

Has a wide variety of coastal and marine flora and fauna including mangroves, sea grasses and sun dunes.
There are also large stocks of fish, marine animals, reptiles etc..
143km^3 of mangrove

Question 8

Chilika lake

Answer 8

Blackish, salty lagoon, birdlife
During monsoons becomes less saline (diluted by fresh water, rainwater) becomes larger than it usually is
TEMPORARY STORE OF WATER IN THE WATER CYCLE!

Question 9

Is odisha an important sediment store?

Answer 9

Yes!
The 6 deltas provide a source and sink of sediment for this part of the Bay of Bengal

Question 10

Human opporunities in Odisha?

Answer 10

• Large stocks of fish
• Marine mammals
• Reptiles
• Huge potential for offshore wind,tidal and wave power
• 35% of the coastline is laden with minerals and heavy metal deposits
• Oil and natural gas offshore
• Tourism - beaches, wildlife, sanctuaries, archelogial sites

Question 11

Risks for human occupation and development?

Answer 11

• Vulnerability of coastal communities due to storm surges, tsunamis, climate change and rising sea levels
• Majority of the states population living on coast caused a concern to indian government

Question 12

Shoreline assessment in 2011

Answer 12

• Attempting to halt processess with sea walls and hard structures would mean the problems will shift down drift
• Without sediment transport beaches dunes barrier beach etc would be threatened and disapear as they are starved of sediment

Question 13

Natural seasonal variations

Answer 13

Occur along the coast with acceration occuring in the summer during relatively low energy wave conditions and erosion in winter with high energy waves

Question 14

How much of odishas coastline is eroding how much is stable?

Answer 14

46.8% accerating 36.8% eroding and 14.4% stable.

Question 15

Odishas ICZM project

Answer 15

• Has co-ordinated the activities of various stakeholders and promoted the sustainable use of natural resources of the odisha coastline whilst maintaining the natural enviroment

Question 16

Who are odishas stakeholders?

Question 17

What is odishas coastal management?

Answer 17

• NGO - wetlands international
• Indian govt iczm
• Trying to help reverse the decades of mangrove destruction and helping villagers to cultivate and plant mangroves along the coastline and also on the banks of all tidal rivers along the coast

Question 18

The mahanadi delta

Answer 18

An important ecological zone providing important natural habitats for a wide variety of wildlife
Recent years there has been a considerable loss of mangroves largely due to the development of fisheries and other economic demands

Question 19

What does odishas ICZM aim to do?

Answer 19

• Establish sustainable levels of economic and social activit
• Resolve environmental, social and economic challenges.
• Protect coastal environments.

Question 20

Who is the ICZM project joint with?

Answer 20

Ministry of Forest and Environment, Indian Government, The World Bank and Odisha’s Government.

Question 21

What were the 6 major issues identified ?

Answer 21

• Coastal erosion.
• Assessing vulnerability to disaster.
• Biodiversity conservation.
• Livelihood security (e.g. fishing).
• Pollution and environmental quality management.
• Conservation of cultural/archelogical assets.

Question 22

When was Odisha’s Biggest Cyclone?

Answer 22

1999 was the strongest ever cyclone in the Indian Ocean, killing over 10,000 people.

Question 23

What other issues have local villages focused on?

Answer 23

• The assessment and control of coastal erosion
• The development of eco-tourism
• Planting and replanting of mangroves
• Building cyclone shelters

Question 24

What is Greenpeace India and its signifcance with Odisha?

Answer 24

Greenpeace india is an enviromental pressure group and has also been involved in meetings about income generation and the management of marine resources acting with some of the villages included in the ICZM project

Question 25

Godwit Eco Cottage

Answer 25

A collection of holiday cottages close to chilika lake They are made of bamboo and mud with thatched roofs

Question 26

Where is odishas acceration?

Answer 26

* Most in the Nort focused on the major

Question 27

Where is odishas acceration and erosion?

Answer 27

* Most in the north, focused on major deltas * Most erosion in the south where there are major structrues (sea walls, break waters and rock armour protecting infrastructure mainly ports which have intefered with natural processess exacerbating rates of erosion

Question 28

Where is there MORE accretion in Odisha?

Answer 28

* Due to the presence of dense mangrove vegetation the coastal districts of Kendrapara, Bhadrak and Baleshwar show levels of accretion that are more than 50% higher than anywhere on the coastline * Rates of accretion and erosion were found to vary considerably either side of the major river mouths

Question 29

What has impacted the dynamic nature of the coastline?

Answer 29

* Seasonal variation * Human intervention

Question 30

Cyclone Phailin October 2013

Answer 30

* Struck the odisha coast near Gopalpur * Windspeeds reached 200km/h tearing down power lines and uprooting trees * Over 1 million people evacuated from areas at greatest risk * 44 died * Thousands affected * Buildings damaged and economic activity disrupted * Coastal district of ganjam most severely affected * 500,000ha of agricultural crops destroyed and economic lossess were close to us700,000 * Chilija lake suffered from a storm surge that will take the ecosystem years to recover * Thousands of mangrove trees destroyed, temporarily rendering t the stretch of the coastline more vulnerable to storm surges

Question 31

What mitigation stratergies does odisha have in place for cyclones?

Answer 31

* Relief supplies prepared * Broadcasting warnings * Conducting staged evacuations away from most vulnerable areas

Question 32

Width of odishas coastlines then v now

Answer 32

Then - 5.1km of mangroves Now - 1.2km

Question 33

Evidence of odishas mangroves proecting the coastline?

Answer 33

In the 1999 super cyclone kalina villages than had 4km+ of mangroves had no deaths Areas with less than 3km death toll rose sharply