Climate Change and Coastal erosion

Climate Change and Coastal erosion

Subject :Environment

Context: Left with just 11 inhabitants, a village caught between climate change and sea

More on the News:

• Since 2007, when the marauding sea started making swift advances to reclaim land. Over 500 families deserted the Podampeta village, condemning the once-thriving hamlet to a deserted shadow of its former self. Once home to over 1,500 fisherfolk, it is currently inhabited by just 11 persons belonging to the two remaining families, one of them Paindi’s.
• Podampeta lies quiescent on the shores of the Bay of Bengal, near the mouth of Rushikulya river.
• According to Odisha’s climate change action plan, made by its Forest and Environment Department, of the coast length of 480 km, nearly 187 km is exposed to erosion and considered stable; 39.3 km falls in the high-erosion zone; while 51.96 km has been designated as falling in the medium-erosion zone.
• The action plan emphasized Odisha’s particular vulnerability to the impact of climate change in the form of rise in sea levels and increased intensity of storms. Loss of land to sea has become a more recurrent and frequent phenomenon.
• According to a study on ‘Shoreline Change Along Odisha Coast’, published in the Journal of Earth System Science in 2021, coastal structures such as sea walls, breakwaters and jetties result in modification of the shoreline and beach morphology.
• Construction of hard structures along the coast, either for development of ports and harbours significantly modifies the shoreline. Besides, natural hazards such as tsunami and cyclone storms along the Indian coast have resulted in significant changes in the shoreline. It said that along the east coast of India, Odisha is most prone to cyclones. Cyclones along the Odisha coast cause severe damage to coastal life and coastal structures.

Causes of Coastal erosion https://optimizeias.com/beaches-in-visakhapatnam-are-now-heading-towards-a-disaster-say-experts/

Integrated Coastal Zone Management:  https://optimizeias.com/coastal-crisis/

New Policy to help displaced Communities https://optimizeias.com/new-policy-to-help-indian-communities-displaced-by-annual-river-coastal-erosion-drafted/