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Environmentalists call for inclusion of ecologically sensitive areas in draft Coastal Zone Management Plan of Puducherry
The revised CZMP will have an effect on how coastal areas used by fisherfolk are managed.
Representational image
| Photo Credit: S.S. Kumar
Environmentalists have raised concerns over the lack of delineation of ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the draft Coastal Zone Management Plans (CZMP) published by the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee (PPCC) in April.
The revised CZMP will have an effect on how coastal areas used by fisherfolk are managed. The map in its present form is incomplete and not in tune with the amended Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification of 2019 since it had left out key land use spaces of fishermen, they contended.
The Coastal People’s Right to Life Movement (CPRM), an organisation for coastal communities roped in ecologists, botanists and remote sensing researchers and recently conducted a GIS mapping of Puducherry’s coastline including all ecologically sensitive areas to highlight the missed out regions by the PPCC. The report with mapping of the ESAs was released by CPRM on Saturday, August 10, 2024.
According to A.S. Arun Kumar, convenor of Puducherry unit of CPRM, “From February 2023, when the PPCC announced a public consultation on the draft CZMP, the fisher panchayats in Puducherry and Karaikal, Tamil Meenavar Viduthalai Vengaikal, Karaikal Fisher Women Federation and CPRM have been campaigning for the proper implementation of the CRZ Notification, 2019. The draft maps released by PPCC did not show even a single fishing village.”
Ecologically sensitive areas
The CRZ notification has listed eleven ESAs under the category of CRZ-1 A such as mangroves, corals and coral reefs, sand dunes, sand marshes, mudflats, sea grass beds and turtle nesting grounds. Mangroves play a major role and function as natural barriers to storm surges, cyclones and tsunamis, absorbing waves and wind energy mitigating their impact on coastal areas.
They also contribute greatly to fish variety by providing secure nursery environments, abundant food supplies and perfect breeding sites. Similarly, salt marshes serve as natural filters, trapping and dissolving contaminants such as heavy metals, nutrients and sediments from agricultural and urban runoff.
“The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) responsible for mapping the ESAs for Puducherry had marked only 82.64 acres of mangroves in Puducherry and Karaikal districts. An additional 228 acres of mangroves are missing in the draft CZMP excluding the buffer zone.”
“Similarly, with respect to sand dunes, the agency has marked only 45.78 acres in Puducherry district and said that there are no sand dunes in Karaikal. However, NCSCM has not marked about 355.19 acres of existing sand dunes in both the districts. For mudflats and turtle nesting rounds, the maps failed to include about 20.17 and 237.65 acres respectively. Only a meagre 10% of salt marshes are marked while a staggering volume of about 370.85 acres have not been included,” according to a study conducted by CPRM.
“While all these places are to be identified and mapped with the support of the local people, the map in its current form, has not captured many of these aspects. Most importantly, it does not have space earmarked for the future development of the fisher community settlements,” Arun Kumar said.
According to N. Malayalathan, the petitioner who has filed the case before the National Green Tribunal to quash the current version of the map, “The Coastal Zone Management Authority for Puducherry and Karaikal should play a proactive role and prevail upon the PPCC and NCSCM to mark the missing ESA and also prepare a conservation plan.”
“The lack of conservation plan and poor administration have already ruined a considerable volume of the ESA. Many salt marsh regions in Puducherry are badly affected as rivers and backwaters are used for draining the untreated wastewater while large portion of sand dunes have been flattened to give way to seaside resorts.”
The significance of ESA is illustrated by the fact that the afforestation work of environmentalists, civil societies and the State in the 1990s have helped Thengaithittu region to grow more mangrove cover on which many are able to monetise now through tourism. Hence, a participatory and regional conservation plan is essential for the wellbeing of all stakeholders in the long run, Mr. Malayalathan added.
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