Case study - Odisha coastline Flashcards
coasts
Location
Eastern coast of India boadring the bay of Benga.
How large is Odisha?
Numbers by state & population &km
9th largest in India by state
11th largest by population
480km of coastline
Odisha population
46,663,000
Odisha population density
270 persons per square kilometer
Physical landscape of odisha?
- 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
Why is odisha known as the Hexadeltaic region or the gift of six rivers?
Odisha has 6 deltas on the odisha coast
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Odishas coastal landmaine
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
Chilika lake
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!
Is odisha an important sediment store?
Yes!
The 6 deltas provide a source and sink of sediment for this part of the Bay of Bengal
Human opporunities in Odisha?
- 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
Risks for human occupation and development?
- 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
Shoreline assessment in 2011
- 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
Natural seasonal variations
Occur along the coast with acceration occuring in the summer during relatively low energy wave conditions and erosion in winter with high energy waves
How much of odishas coastline is eroding how much is stable?
46.8% accerating 36.8% eroding and 14.4% stable.
Odishas ICZM project
- 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
Who are odishas stakeholders?
What is odishas coastal management?
- 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
The mahanadi delta
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
What does odishas ICZM aim to do?
- Establish sustainable levels of economic and social activit
- Resolve environmental, social and economic challenges.
- Protect coastal environments.
Who is the ICZM project joint with?
Ministry of Forest and Environment, Indian Government, The World Bank and Odisha’s Government.
What were the 6 major issues identified ?
- Coastal erosion.
- Assessing vulnerability to disaster.
- Biodiversity conservation.
- Livelihood security (e.g. fishing).
- Pollution and environmental quality management.
- Conservation of cultural/archelogical assets.
When was Odisha’s Biggest Cyclone?
1999 was the strongest ever cyclone in the Indian Ocean, killing over 10,000 people.
What other issues have local villages focused on?
- The assessment and control of coastal erosion
- The development of eco-tourism
- Planting and replanting of mangroves
- Building cyclone shelters
What is Greenpeace India and its signifcance with Odisha?
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
Godwit Eco Cottage
A collection of holiday cottages close to chilika lake
They are made of bamboo and mud with thatched roofs
Where is odishas acceration?
- Most in the Nort focused on the major
Where is odishas acceration and erosion?
- 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
Where is there MORE accretion in Odisha?
- 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
What has impacted the dynamic nature of the coastline?
- Seasonal variation
- Human intervention
Cyclone Phailin October 2013
- 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
What mitigation stratergies does odisha have in place for cyclones?
- Relief supplies prepared
- Broadcasting warnings
- Conducting staged evacuations away from most vulnerable areas
Width of odishas coastlines then v now
Then - 5.1km of mangroves
Now - 1.2km
Evidence of odishas mangroves proecting the coastline?
In the 1999 super cyclone kalina villages than had 4km+ of mangroves had no deaths
Areas with less than 3km death toll rose sharply
