T V Ramachandra, Anirudh Kishore
Energy and Wetlands Research Group,
Centre for Ecological Sciences,
Indian Institute of Science - 560012

The KSCZMA is authorised with the power to take up measures to protect and improve the coastal environment and the prevention of its depletion. It is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of the CRZ rules and preparation of CZMPs including the mapping of HTL, TL and hazard line, with the technical support from NCSCM. Exclusively constituted to deal ith environmental issues relating to Coastal Regulation Zones, the state authority is responsible or inquiring into cases of alleged violation of the provisions of the CRZ Notification and if found necessary in a specific case, for the issuing of directions under section 5 of the Act. Further, provision has been made for the cases of violations to be referred to the NCZMA with comments if found necessary. Once directions are issued, the authority is expected to fill complaints in case of non-compliance of the directions under section 19 of the Act. For the successful implementation of the CRZ Notification 2019, the violations made across the CRZ zones in accordance with the CRZ Notification 2011 have to be documented and legally dealt with. It becomes increasingly easier for such violations to establish themselves as legitimate holdings under revised notifications, often creating tension between the local communities and the authorities. The socio-equity and the economic impacts of acting upon such violations is often a sensitive domain for legislations and directives to address but do not substantiate the exclusion of its environmental impact on decision making. By violating the rules and regulations set in place for the protection of the coastal ecosystem, we tend to put at stake the very factors that make the coast susceptible to human settlements. An increase in encroachments, accompanied by the increased levels of resourceextraction and pollution makes the coast more vulnerable to natural disasters, putting the very lives of the communities depend on it at stake. Hence while focussing on pro-active measures for the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems, implementation of mechanisms to effectively address any violations of the directive is necessary.
Under National Biodiversity Target 6, 106 coastal and marine sites have been identified and prioritised as Important Coastal and Marine Areas (ICMBAs) by the Wildlife Institute of India with the aim of conserving a substantial portion of the coastal and marine areas in the country. Out of the 106, 62 belong to the west coast while 44 belong to the east and 22 ICMBAs have been prioritized for immediate conservation measures. Public awareness programs needs to be taken up by the government authorities to impart the scientific basis of conservation and restoration programs, thereby increasing the credibility of all the stakeholders, making the execution of community-driven initiatives smoother and personal. Need to declare ecologically sensitive regions of high productivity as Biological Hertiage Site (BHS). Steps towards restoring mangrove vegetation should be carried out with the help of the local communities across all estuaries in Karnataka considering their tremendous ecological and economic value. Further, the use of remote sensing and satellite data can further help in time-sensitive analyses of natural resource availability, their rates of extraction and the violations happening across the CRZ zones, which can then be acted upon as they emerge, avoiding the socio-economic problems that would arise with violations established over longer periods that support the livelihood of the coastal communities dependent on it for that would create friction between the authorities and the local community. Sustainable development of the coastal region can be achieved by sustaining the natural resources while supporting activities that can help in keeping them intact. The inclusion of the local communities, who base their whole lives around the availability of natural resources from the coastal ecosystems, have to be consulted regularly regarding the activities along the coast and their help should be south while planning and implementing pro-active, prudent conservation and restoration strategies that will contribute towards increasing the health of coastal ecosystems.