Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan | 08 Aug 2019

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has unveiled the draft Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) for Integrated coastal management.

  • The draft plan will dictate how prospective infrastructure projects situated along the coast would be assessed before they can apply for clearance by laying out guidelines for coastal States to adopt when they approve and regulate projects in coastal zones.
  • The ESMF draft plan as a part of a World Bank-funded project seeks to assist the Government of India in enhancing coastal resource efficiency and resilience, by building collective capacity (including communities and decentralised governance) for adopting and implementing Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan.
  • The MoEFCC had launched an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) by establishing a Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM).

Draft Environmental and Social Management Framework

  • Draft ESMF has been prepared in support of a project proposal for “Enhancing climate resilience of India’s coastal communities” by the Government of India (GoI) to the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
  • The objective of the draft ESMF project is to enhance the resilience of the lives and livelihoods of the most vulnerable populations, particularly women, in the coastal areas of India.
  • The project will work at national, state, and community levels to enhance capacity for the ecosystem and community-based approaches to adaptation.

Society of Integrated Coastal Management

  • Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) has been established under the aegis of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
  • It has a vision for vibrant, healthy and resilient coastal and marine environment for the continuous and enhanced outflow of benefits to the country and the coastal community.
  • SICOM is the national project management unit of India in strategic planning, management, execution, monitoring and successful implementation of the ICZMP-Phase-I.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan: (ICZM) is a process for the management of the coast using an integrated approach, regarding all aspects of the coastal zone, including geographical and political boundaries, in an attempt to achieve sustainability.

  • The concept was born in 1992 during the Earth Summit of Rio de Janeiro.
  • The specifics regarding ICZM is set out in the proceedings of the summit within Agenda 21.

Implementation

  • It is a World Bank assisted project and is being implemented by the Department of Forests and Environment with assistance from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
  • The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Chennai, is providing scientific and technical inputs.

Objective

  • Formulation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan for the State
  • Lessen the coastal erosion
  • Reduce vulnerability to disaster
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Livelihood security
  • Pollution/ environmental quality management
  • Improvement and conservation of cultural/ archaeological assets

Components: Society of Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM) would be implementing the project the national level and state level.

  • Till now three coastal states namely West Bengal, Gujarat and Orissa have been selected under the ICZM plan.
  • Four main components of the plan include National Coastal Zone Management Programme, ICZM-West Bengal, ICZM-Orissa and ICZM-Gujarat:
    • National Coastal Zone Management Programme: The national component will include mapping, delineation and demarcation of the hazard lines, and delineation of coastal sediment cells all along the mainland coast of India.
    • ICZM approaches in Gujarat, Orissa and West Bengal: will support capacity building of the state-level agencies and institutions, including preparation of an ICZM plan for the coastal sediment cell, regional coastal process study, and pilot investments.

Source: TH