Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems : Daily Current Affairs

Relevance: GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment; Disaster and disaster management

Key Phrases: Environment Impact Assessment, Conservation of Coastal Ecosystem, Coastal Regulation Zone, Environment Protection Act, 1986

Context:

As per a recent CAG report, several coastal zone projects were approved despite environmental impact assessment (EIA) inadequacies. This brought into focus the issues and conservation related to coastal ecosystems.

Background

India represents 2.4% of the world's landmass and supports a population of over one billion people.
The sea around India is part of the northern Indian Ocean, and the Indian subcontinent forms a major physical feature separating the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal of the Indian Ocean.
India has an extensive coastline of length 7517 km, of which 5423 km is in peninsular India and 2094 km is in the Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands.
The extent of the EEZ is 2.02 million km. This coastline also supports a huge human population, which is dependent on rich coastal and marine resources.

What is the coastal ecosystem?

A coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem that occurs where the land meets the ocean.
It includes many different types of marine habitats, such as estuaries and lagoons, salt marshes and mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs, kelp forests and backwaters.

Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

CRZ : Coastal land up to 500 m from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100 m along banks of creeks, lagoons, estuaries, backwater and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations.
The government had in 2019 notified CRZ norms under the Environment Protection Act, 1986 to conserve and protect the environment of coastal stretches and marine areas and ensure livelihood security to the fishing communities and other local communities.

Institutions responsible for CRZ Notification

National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA);
State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) and
District Level Committees (DLCs).

CAG Report on Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems:

Expert Appraisal Committee

Instances were observed where Expert Appraisal Committees of the Union Environment Ministry granted clearances to projects, though domain experts were not present during the deliberations.
The members of EAC were less than half of the total strength during the deliberations as there was no fixed quorum for EAC members.
Several projects in coastal regulation zones were approved during 2015-2020 despite inadequacies in EIA reports.

Inadequacies in the EIA reports include -

Non-accreditation of the consultant involved with its preparation
Usage of outdated baseline data
Non-evaluation of environmental impacts of the project
Non-address of disasters which the project area was prone to
Activities forming a part of the mitigation plans like mangrove conservation, replantation, biodiversity conservation plan, rain water harvesting plan were not included in the environment management plan.
Several project proponents failed to comply with conditions for environmental clearance and did not submit the mandatory half-yearly compliance reports to the regional offices of the ministry.
The ministry relied on the information submitted by the project proponent w.r.t. potential ecological risks due to the project activities without verification.

Issues observed by CAG w.r.t. SCZMA

Instances were observed where SCZMAs, rather than recommending the projects to relevant authorities, granted clearance on its own.
It also recommended many projects without the submission of mandatory documents.
It was not reconstituted in Karnataka and there was delayed reconstitution in Goa, Odisha and West Bengal during 2015-2020.
It held meetings without fulfilling the quorum requirements and lacked representation from relevant stakeholder bodies.
In many states, it did not have sufficient manpower to perform their mandate.
The DLCs of Tamil Nadu lacked participation from local traditional communities. In Andhra Pradesh, they were not established at all. In Goa, DLCs were formed after a delay of six years.

Additional Information

Environment Impact Assessment

It is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

Environment Protection Act, 1986

In response to the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, the EPA was enacted in 1986 with the objective of providing for the protection and improvement of the environment.

Expert Appraisal Committees

EAC exists at the Union as well as state levels (state EAC) to advise the government on environmental clearance of development projects.
Its role is integral to the process of granting environmental clearance to development projects.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan

ICZM is a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in an attempt to achieve sustainability.
The 1992 Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro and Agenda 21 gave way for ICZM.
It is a World Bank assisted project and is being implemented by the Department of Forests and Environment with assistance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
The National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management, Chennai, is providing scientific and technical inputs.

Way Forward

Considering the importance of coastal areas in India with respect to the prevailing socio-economic perspectives, it will be difficult to add further habitats of coastal and marine biodiversity in the existing MPA network as national parks or sanctuaries.
The highly threatened marine species of India need to be conserved on priority basis using special 'Species Recovery Programme'.
Coastal ecosystems are amongst some of the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change. Therefore, it is of the greatest importance to have a climate change adaptation plan for the coastal and marine protected areas in the country.
Coordination among all the organizations/institutions that work for conservation of threatened marine species and the welfare of coastal communities is required.

Source: The Hindu

Mains Question:

Q. Coastal ecosystems are amongst some of the most vulnerable ecosystems to climate change. In the light of a recent report of CAG, discuss the issues faced in the conservation efforts in India. [250 Words].