‘Green shield’ will protect Karnataka’s coastline

Alarmed by the rapid degradation of the coastal ecosystem and the potential danger this poses to people living along the coast, the Karnataka forest department has devised a plan to prevent further damage to the beaches.

An increase in population density and economic activities in the coastal zones is putting pressure on the ecosystem, which can lead to loss of biodiversity, coral reef bleaching, new diseases among organisms, hypoxia, reduced water quality, and a threat to human health due to toxins in fish and algae.

Since about 60% of the world’s population lives within 100 km from the seas, any catastrophe along coastlines will result in huge loss of life. The forest department wants to prevent such a disaster by fortifying the coastal regions. It is planning a hasiru kavacha, or a ‘green shield’, at all the beaches in the three coastal districts of the state — from Thalapady near Mangalore to Karwar, a stretch of
309 km.

The ‘shield’ will be a three-tier green cover with different types of coastal vegetation. “There will be a green carpet of ipoma biloma, a creeper which grows at beaches and pins sand to the ground,” Manjunath Shetty, assistant conservator of forests, Kundapur sub-division, said. “It will give adequate cover to the beach wildlife, like small amphibian crustaceans, turtles, and snakes. The second tier will be made of vetiver (lavancha), an aromatic plant known for its medicinal values and thick network of roots,” he said.

“The third tier will be made up of a thick cover of trees like casuarina, calophyllum and honge (pongamia pinnata).”
A 175-km “green shield” will soon come up in the three coastal districts of Udupi (between Karnad and Shiroor), Uttara Kannada (from Bhatkal to Karwar), and Dakshina Kannada (from Thalapady to Karnad).

Another ‘green shield’ had been set up at Kodi Kanyana sea face in Kundapur division, Shetty said. “Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa will inspect it on August 13,” he said.

“Over the centuries, due to the human intervention, the beaches have lost their natural cover of vegetation,” Ananth Hegde Ashisara, chairman, Karnataka Board of Biodiversity and also Western Ghats Task Force, said. “No human effort will be able to arrest the advance of the sea in such a condition. But nature can repair some of the damage if we initiate natural re-generation of green cover,” he said. 

“The ‘green shield’ will protect people from disasters like tsunami, hurricane and metallic corrosion due to saline winds,” Sundar Naik, additional principal conservator of forests, said.