The scheme will also include a detailed study to estimate how much of India will be submerged by the rise in sea-levels caused by global warming.
India will spend Rs 1,200 crore over the next five years to shore up its coastline and conserve its near-shore marine fauna, environment minister Jairam Ramesh announced.
The scheme will also include a detailed study to estimate how much of India will be submerged by the rise in sea-levels caused by global warming.
"Currently, we only know that the sea water is likely to rise by around half a metre in the next fifty years," says Dr A Senthil Vel, National Project Director for Society of Integrated Coasal Management.
He points out that India at present does not have the required data, including elevation levels on the sea-coast, to make a reliable estimate of how much land the sea-level rise will submerge.
"Currently, the contour-maps [of the coastal areas] detect elevation differences of 5 metres or more. With the new study, we would have maps of 0.5 metre resolution," he pointed out.
Vel also added that around 30% of India's 5000 km mainland coastline is now under attack from the sea. These areas, he added, have been classified as 'red' areas, indicating that sea is protruding inwards.
"In some areas, erosion is as high as 25 metres [of land] per year," he pointed out. Among the high erosion areas are Alibaugh near Mumbai, Dahej in Gujarat and Ennore in Chennai.
Most of the land-loss is expected along the Western coast, including in Gujarat, while areas such as Haldia in West Bengal are seeing the reverse phenomenon of withdrawal of the sea. Both trends are without considering the added impact of rising sea levels due to global warming, expected to gather steam over the coming years.
Out of the total Rs1,200 to be spent under the Marine ecosystem project, Rs300 crore will be spent in Gujarat, Rs200 crore each in Orissa and West Bengal and Rs200 crore in conducting the mapping study throughout India's coast.
The World Bank assisted project will also target the preservation of the marine fauna in the sea, especially in most of the protected marine parks such as the Bhitar Kanika in Orissa.
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