Contrasting Coastline: Odisha Coast, India Flashcards
Where is odisha?
Odisha is a state on the east coast of India bordering the Bay of Bengal
How would you describe the coastline?
Straight (around 500km long) with few natural inlets or harbours
How is coastline contrasting to UK coastlines e.g. Holderness coast?
Odisha coastline is straight (with few natural inlets or harbours). However some similarities with some longer beaches in the UK but Odisha’s coast tend to be more low-lying than areas in the UK
Most of the state’s population live on
The level coastal strip known as the Odisha coastal plains
The coast is essentially one of what process?
Deposition and includes several major deltas=represents a significant sediment sink/store
What provide important transfers of sediment into the region in forming deltaic deposits?
Rivers
What are some opportunities for human occupation and development?
- odisha’s coastal zone has a wide variety of marine and coastal flora and fauna including around 1500km of mangrove forest, sea grasses, salt marshes, sand dunes, estuaries and lagoons
- Chilika Lake, a salty lagoon, has a bird sanctuary with over 150 migratory and resident species = attraction for tourists who also visit the coastal beaches
- large stocks of fish and Olive Ridley turtles- many local people are employed in coastal fishing and increasingly in aquaculture such as shrimps and tiger prawns
- opportunities for offshore oil and natural gas and the area has huge potential for offshore wind, tidal and wave power
What role do the mangroves play?
- halophytes adapted to harsh coastal condition
- provide protective belts that shelter villages from the worst events of tropical storms
- however mangroves trapping sediment could lead to further down depletion of sediment = higher risk of erosion
What are some risks for human occupation and development?
- rates of erosion along the coastline have increased in recent decades, as a result of both natural processes but also as a consequence of human intervention methods
- Indian gov increasingly concerned about vulnerability of coastal communities to storm surges and tsunamis as well as the longer-term threats posed by climate change and rising sea levels- majority of state’s population live on or close to the coastline
- coastline is a very dynamic environment: natural seasonal variations occur, with a build up of sediment along beaches and barrier beaches in the summer during low-energy wave conditions and erosion in the winter when high-energy destructive waves remove sediments and deposits them offshore
Regarding risks, the 2011 shoreline change assessment carried out by the Ministry of Environment and forests concluded that
Any attempt to halt natural processes with hard engineering structures was likely to only shift the problem elsewhere- only 14% of the coastline was found to be stable, the rest was subject to significant change meaning that any human intervention is likely to interfere with sediment transfers and result in severe erosion in some localities
The odisha coast is at risk from tropical cyclones and storm surges; it is likely that the frequency and intensity of such storms will increase as a result of
climate change
- along with global rising sea levels, this represents a significant threat
What was the strongest ever recorded cyclone in northern Indian Ocean?
- odisha cyclone 1999
- killed over 1000 people
- odisha hit again in 2013 but with lost of thousand of hectares of land destroyed and Chilika Lake suffered from a storm surge that destroyed vast expanses of mangrove trees
What are the human responses to the challenges? (Resilience, mitigation and adaption)
- plans already in place along the coastline to mitigate the effects of tropical storms- before 2013 storm, an estimated one million people were successfully evacuated. In addition, relief supplies are provide before storms and warnings are broadcast to the most vulnerable areas. Local people also show considerable resilience in their ability to adapt to changing circumstances; since then, additional cyclone shelters have been built to offer greater protection to local communities
- Odisha coast recently developed an ICZM project to coordinate the activities of the various stakeholders and promote the sustainable use of the coast’s natural resources while maintaining their natural environment- the stakeholders include: central gov departments, state and local gov departments, as well as the state’s tourist departments and local handicraft industries with world bank also supporting the venture
What are the aims of the Odisha ICZM?
- establish sustainable levels of economic and social activity including fishing and the development of ecotourism
- resolve environmental, social and economic challenges and conflicts e.g. maintaining sediment flow, measuring employment trends, monitor number of threatened species)
- protect coastal environment
Regarding human responses, there have been a wide range of public-consultations as well as
Inter-organisational consultations. Greenpeace India (NGO) has also been involved in meetings about income generation and the management of marine resources
