Odisha Flashcards
Location and population ranking?
Odisha is a state on the eastern coast of India bordering the Bay of Bengal.
It is the 9th largest state by area and 11th by population.
Landforms found there?
Odisha has a relatively straight coastline with few natural inlets and harbours.
Mostly comprised of depositional landforms that formed recently including 6 major deltas.
The Odisha coast therefore represents a significant sediment store and provides a source of sediment for this part of the Bay of Bengal.
A wide range of coastal and marine fauna and flora including 1435km^2 of mangrove forest.
Length of coastline?
480km
What are the main economic opportunities for human development on the Odisha coastline?
Huge potential for offshore wind, tidal and wave power.
35% of the coastline has large deposits of sedimentary and heavy metal deposits.
Opportunities for offshore oil and natural gas aswell as seabed mining.
Large fishing industry provides employment.
Tourism is important due to major attractions such as large beaches, wildlife sanctuary’s and cultural/archaeological sites on the coastline.
What are the main environmental opportunities for human development on the Odisha coastline?
Odisha’s coastal zone has a wide range of coastal and marine fauna and flora including mangroves, sea grasses, salt marshes and sand dunes.
Large stocks of fish, marine mammals, reptiles and an abundance of seaweed.
The Chilika Lake Bird Sanctuary boasts over 150 migratory and resident species of birds.
How is the coastline at risk?
The majority of the states population live at the coasts and erosion rates have increased over the past decades.
Odisha is a naturally changing environment with seasonal changes based on the transportation of sediment but human intervention has disrupted this and caused increased erosion at certain parts of the coast.
What statistics did the Assessment of Shoreline Change find?
46.8% of the coastline is accreting (growing due to the accumulation of sediment),
36.8% is eroding and only 14.4% is stable.
Most accretion is in the north around the major deltas.
Most erosion is in the south around human interventionist structures protecting ports but preventing the transportation of sediment.
The shoreline change is extremely dynamic, especially around the mouths of rivers.
Management - What are the aims of the ICZM?
The recent ICZM project coordinated the activities of stakeholders and promoted the sustainable use of natural resources of the Odisha coast whilst maintaining the natural environment.
They also aim to:
Establish sustainable levels of socioeconomic activity.
Resolve environmental, social and economic challenges and conflicts.
Protect the coastal environment.
They also paired with the Ministry of Forest and Environment, the World Bank and the Indian Government where they identified the issues:
Coastal erosion.
Increased vulnerability to disasters.
Biodiversity conservation.
Livelihood security.
Pollution and environmental quality management.
Conservation of cultural and archaeological assets.
Smaller organisations that have a stake in Odisha’s future have consulted individual villages about issues such as:
The assessment and control of coastal erosion.
The development of ecotourism.
Planting or replanting of mangroves.
The building of cyclone shelters.
Why couldn’t hard engineering strategies be used?
The high tourism and natural beauty as well as high population all along the coastline meant that hard engineering strategies would be disruptive.
What has happened to the mangroves over the last 50 years?
Considerable loss of mangroves due to the development of fisheries and other economic demands.
Average width of mangroves reduced from 5km to 1.2km.
