Coastal communities need to be resilient amid climate change: Minister

He was speaking at the inaugural function of the first National Conference on Sustainable Coastal Management in Bhubaneswar.

Noting that the Indian coastline is of immense strategic, economic and social importance to the country, he said that spread over 7,500 km, it is the seventh longest in the world, and is home to 20% of the country’s population.

“Three of our four metropolitan cities are located on the coast. Our coastal regions have a great diversity of ecosystems that support more than 17,000 species of plants and animals. With the changing climate, we need to build resilience of the communities living in the coastal areas,” Yadav said.

The conference is organized by the Green Climate Fund-backed project – Enhancing the Climate Resilience of India’s Coastal Communities – with an aim to bring officials from all 13 coastal states of India under one roof to promote coastal and marine biodiversity. The focus is on three interrelated topics. Climate mitigation and adaptation and coastal pollution.

“This effort aims to create a vibrant network of stakeholders who will continue to engage with each other on topics but also cross-cutting topics such as coastal governance, technologies and innovation, as well as domestic and international finance.” From the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

The Minister said that the conference comes at a crucial time as India has submitted its revised NDCs and seeks to forge a multi-sectoral partnership to meet these goals.

The ministry statement said that sustainable coastal management is recognized as the need of the hour and data-driven policies and management frameworks, participatory conservation models, and convergence among stakeholders are key pillars of effective coastal management.

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