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Project Measuring, monitoring, and managing
sustainability: the coastal dimension
Objectives The main objectives of this project were, (i) to understand how societal driving forces - demographic, economic and socio-cultural - interact with natural systems to impact on coastal resources in India, (ii) to identify the key variables in the use of coastal resources, (iii) to examine the policy matrix in place, and (iv) to identify the information requirements and decision-making instruments necessary for more effective local management. The project aimed at integrating environmental and developmental issues across disciplines and to bridge the divide between the natural and social sciences, building on each other's strengths and constraints. Societal drivers and coastal ecosystems are the two features that have been studied to examine aspects of change and sustainability on the coast. The ecosystems studied were sand dunes, coastal vegetation, coastal aquifers, land cover, marine and estuarine waters. These ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to socio-economic driving forces, as they are often considered 'expendable' in the path of increased development, without recognition of their protective and other societal roles.
Summary of main findings Our research allowed us to perform a comparative analysis across locations (North Goa, Thane, and East Godavari) and drivers (tourism, industry, and intensive agriculture/aquaculture) and to point out the main impacts on the ecosystems observed and the societal drivers that may have been responsible for the impacts. In North Goa, human activities with an impact on the ecosystem are:
The impact on ecosystems because of human
activities in the East Godavari area and the key societal drivers of change that this
research has identified are: In Thane, the main impacts on the ecosystem
are: changes in land cover, polluted coastal and groundwater. The drivers of these changes
are: Based on detailed case studies, the framework for an integrated analysis of the social and ecological dimensions of coastal development has been suggested. Research has developed tools and suggested approaches to improve the management of different ecosystems and coastal areas sustainably. A new methodology for delineating ground water well-head protection areas has been developed, and methods of applying optimization models to satisfy the water demand made by tourist infrastructure has been shown. A report on ground water indicators has been prepared. A process has been described for involving multi-stakeholders in developing strategies and scenarios for any development activity. Indicators have been developed to identify key aspects of the coastal system - drivers, pressures, state of selected ecosystems, and responses - and monitoring their progress towards enhanced sustainability. A method has been discussed to predict land cover changes based on projected human activity. A method of grading of water bodies to show the level of pollution, based on a modified version of the CPCB's method of classification has been proposed. This can also be used to compare at a glance, different stretches of one or more water bodies at different geographical locations. An approach has been developed to assess the assimilative capacity of coastal waters with a view to comment on its future health. A set of open and multipurpose tools has been
designed and built to help decision-makers. The tools can be classified into three main
groups: Policy analysis leads us to suggest the
following initiatives for more effective coastal management in India: European policies do have some lessons for countries with federal systems such as India as the political system in the EU is one of many nations under a common umbrella. India's states can learn some lessons about common, but differentiated responses from the EU's experience in coastal management. Much more research is needed, however, to assess the applicability in the Indian context, of the principles of subsidiarity, integration, and harmonization of policies in order to improve the effectiveness of policy.
Project benefits The project has resulted in a number of benefits. It has developed a framework of indicators for coastal vulnerability to development. The framework allows a prioritization of coastal districts in India that need to be studied intensively for improved coastal planning and management interventions. The indicators suggested could be used to design coastal monitoring systems, which can help develop more sophisticated socio-economic and environmental indicators for the coast. The driver and pressure indicators provide information that relate to particular issues typical of the human activities studied, and are of relevance to other parts of India. The indicators of health of ecosystems are generic and can be used to study these ecosystems in other coastal areas. These indicators together can serve to measure and monitor impacts and become important management tools. The data obtained on vegetation patterns based on the chosen indicators e.g. NDVI, Fractal Dimension and LAI can explain changes in the landscape in a very detailed way and can be used to measure the degradation of the environment. A very high correlation between the type of human activities and the landscape and vegetation patterns was found at the study locations. Considerable data on plant diversity have also been acquired. Appropriate management mathematical models and practices towards the optimization of the existing groundwater resources; and researches on groundwater aquifer vulnerability assessment are vital for good coastal planning. This coupled with the new method for geographical groundwater protection zoning, indicators and applied optimization models to satisfy the water demand of new tourist infrastructures serve as important ways to improve decision-making . The detailed case studies suggested a framework for an integrated analysis of the social and ecological dimensions of coastal development. We believe this framework will enhance research that links social and ecological systems, as it will enable a clearer understanding of the context (social and natural) in which the impacts occur, why they occur, and the implications of alternative routes. A simple mathematical model to estimate the demands placed by societal drivers on coastal resources and the environment has been developed. The alternative scenarios built into the model provide decision-makers with pictures of how the pressures on resource use and environmental loads can be reduced through improved practices and policy. The work on understanding the nature of coastal dynamics led to the thought that sustainability in coastal areas needs to be studied as a contest between different interests and parties, competition for use, and development processes. How can the benefits of an economic activity be distributed among stakeholders, especially local communities more equitably? How can the objective of safeguarding the interests of a region rather than the strategic interests of any particular stakeholder be furthered? By taking on board issues of concern to various stakeholders, we believe that a more democratic response can be negotiated. From this perspective, the project recommends the adoption of processes that work with different stakeholders to arrive at alternative scenarios of future development paths, to enable their concerns and views to be reflected. Another significant result of this study is the identification of the ineffectiveness of policy relating to coastal developments in terms of outcome, and the possible reasons for this. For sustainability, effectiveness is as important, if not more important than efficiency of policy. Research suggests that the absence of an integrated holistic approach to policy-making and a failure to link the process of policy-making with the substance of policy results in outcomes that are inferior viewed within a sustainability framework. Therefore, the development of and support to more participative approaches to policy-making and planning are both research recommendations for future action. We would like to suggest that all legitimate stakeholders involved in a more participatory model of development would move us towards a more sustainable coastal development and better coastal management. At the regional and local level, a direct benefit from the project comes from the detailed location assessments in Goa, Thane and East Godavari. These assessments can be used by local and regional stakeholders to guide interventions locally. The decision tools to study choices at selected locations can benefit local and regional management because it considers different dimensions of sustainability.
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Changes in land-use and land cover: Population and
population movements, demands arising from remittance incomes, demand made by tourism,
lower personal dependence on ecosystems, insufficient knowledge of the value of an
ecosystem, lower personal as compared to community valuation of ecosystems, short time
horizons, zoning rules and need to preempt their enforcement, changes in legal rules with
implications for management regimes, local politics and power configurations, political
economy of the state, and rent-seeking behaviour as it relates to construction activities.
