coasts case studies Flashcards
describe the location of the odisha coast
-coast of odisha, a state in South-East India
-in the East of the state
-next to the Bay of Bengal
describe the odisha coastline
-low lying land
-straight coastline around 480km long with few natural inlets or harbours
-depositional landscape
-chilika lake - brackish lagoon formed by a bar. grows in size during monsoon season
-6 major deltas, ‘hexadeltic region’ or ‘gift of 6 rivers’
-almost 15,000km2 mangrove forest
what are the opportunities along the odisha coast
-flat land for development -odisha coastal plane
-Flora and fauna (1,435km2 mangrove forest, sea grass, salt Marsh, sand dunes, estuaries, chilika lake, seagrass meadows)
-large stocks of fish - 1.6 million fishermen
-marine mamals, reptiles, olive ridley turtles
what we’re the impacts of cyclone Phailin?
-133mm rain in 24 hours
-120km/h sustained winds
-200km/h gusts
-46 dead
-economic losses close to
US$ 700,000
-over 1 million people evacuated
-power lines and mangroves torn down
-agriculture compromised due to inundation of 500,000 hectares of farmland with seawater
-basic needs in short supply
why are mangroves important?
-bioshield
-carbon storage capacity greater than rainforest
-75% of all tropical fish are born in mangrove forests
-filter pollutants protecting sea grasses and corals
-one of the most productive ecosystems on earth
what are the threats to the mangrove forests?
-shrimp farming (creation of millions of hectares of ponds)
-palm oil plantations
-urbanisation
how fast are mangrove forests disappearing?
-35% lost in the last 30 years
-disappearing at a rate of 1% per year
name an NGO aiming to protect mangroves
Mangroves For The Future
what are the aims of the Odisha ICZM?
-establish sustainable levels of economic and social activity
-resolve environmental, social and economic challenges and conflicts
-protect the coastal environment
what we’re the issues identified by the Odisha ICZM?
-coastal erosion and associated oceanographic processes
-assessing vunerability to disaster (cyclone Phailin)
-biodiversity conservation
-livelyhood security
-pollution and environmental quality action
-conservation of cultural/archaeological assets
how has the Mahanadi Delta been managed?
-important ecological zone that has suffered significant loss of mangrove forests
-50 years ago villages had an average of 5km of mangroves protecting them whereas now they have an average of 1.2km (width)
-in 1999, during ‘supercyclone’ Kalina, village’s with more than 4km of mangroves suffered no deaths, whereas deaths rose sharply where mangrove barrier was less than 3km wide
-NGO Wetlands International is working on the ICZM project to protect mangroves by helping locals plant mangroves along the coastline and banks of tidal rivers
