coasts case studies

Question 1

describe the location of the odisha coast

Answer 1

-coast of odisha, a state in South-East India
-in the East of the state
-next to the Bay of Bengal

Question 2

describe the odisha coastline

Answer 2

-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

Question 3

what are the opportunities along the odisha coast

Answer 3

-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

Question 4

what we’re the impacts of cyclone Phailin?

Answer 4

-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

Question 5

why are mangroves important?

Answer 5

-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

Question 6

what are the threats to the mangrove forests?

Answer 6

-shrimp farming (creation of millions of hectares of ponds)
-palm oil plantations
-urbanisation

Question 7

how fast are mangrove forests disappearing?

Answer 7

-35% lost in the last 30 years
-disappearing at a rate of 1% per year

Question 8

name an NGO aiming to protect mangroves

Answer 8

Mangroves For The Future

Question 9

what are the aims of the Odisha ICZM?

Answer 9

-establish sustainable levels of economic and social activity

-resolve environmental, social and economic challenges and conflicts

-protect the coastal environment

Question 10

what we’re the issues identified by the Odisha ICZM?

Answer 10

-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

Question 11

how has the Mahanadi Delta been managed?

Answer 11

-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