Post Tsunami Environment Initiative
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Post Tsunami Environment Initiative Post Tsunami Environment Initiative Funded by UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM Executed by Nature Conservation Foundation, Mysore Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment, Bangalore Citizen consumer and civic Action Group nature conservation foundation Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment CAG Citations PTEI. 2007. Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. pp 199. Madhusudan, M. D., V. Srinivas, R. Raghunath, V. Kapoor and R. Arthur. 2007. Understanding coastal vulnerability – Spatial approaches to understanding the impacts of the 2004 tsunami on the Indian mainland. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India ; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 7-30 p. Mukherjee, N., B. Muthuraman, A. Gokul, V. Kapoor, R. Arthur and K. Shanker. 2007. A gap analysis of ecological impact assessments done in the tsunami affected states. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 31-42 p. Muthuraman, B., A. Gokul, N. Mukheree, K. Shanker and R. Arthur. 2007. An overview of coastal ecosystems and the impact of the December 2004 tsunami on mainland states in India. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 43-71 p. Mukheree, N., B. Muthuraman and K. Shanker. 2007. Analysis of post-tsunami coastal plantation initiatives of the Forest Department and non-governmental organisations in Tamil Nadu. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 73-82 p. Gokul A. and K. Shanker. 2007. A brief assessment of sandy beaches on the southeast coast of India. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 83-93 p. Alcoverro, T., B. Muthuraman, N. Marba and R. Arthur. 2007. Measuring the impact of the tsunami on seagrass meadows in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 93- 104 p. Menon, M. and Sridhar, A. 2007. An appraisal of coastal regulation law in tsunami-affected mainland India. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 105-149 p. Rodriguez, S. 2007. A preliminary socio-ecological review of post-tsunami ecosystem-derived Livelihoods & Rehabilitation efforts. In: Report on ecological and social impact assessments post-tsunami in mainland India; Submitted to UNDP. Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. 151-191 p. Contents Executive Summary............................................................................................................................................................3 Chapter 1 Understanding coastal vulnerability – the impacts of the 2004 tsunami on the Indian mainland.....................................................................................................................................................................7 Chapter 2 A gap analysis of ecological impact assessments done in the tsunami-affected states.......................................................................................................................................................................................31 Chapter 3 An overview of coastal ecosystems and the impact of the December 2004 tsunami on mainland states in India .......................................................................................................................43 a Analysis of post-tsunami coastal plantation initiatives of the Forest Department and non-governmental organisations in Tamil Nadu......................................................................................................................................................................................75 b A brief assessment of sandy beaches on the south-east coast of India..................................................................................87 c Measuring the impact of the tsunami on seagrass meadows in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay......................99 Chapter 4 An appraisal of Coastal Regulation Law in tsunami-affected mainland India........ 109 Chapter 5 A preliminary socio-ecological review of post-tsunami ecosystem-derived livelihoods and rehabilitation efforts................................................................................................................... 153 1 Executive Summary The earthquake and tsunami of 2004 was a catastrophe of unprecedented magnitude, leaving almost 230,000 people dead or missing, and several millions homeless as it travelled across the Indian Ocean (UN Office of the Special Envoy Report, 2006). In India, the full impact of the tsunami was felt in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a mere 450 km at the closest point from the point of origin at Banda-Aceh in Sumatra. It resulted in major changes to the topography of the island group, large loss of life and livelihoods, and untold damage to natural systems. Although nearly 2,000 km away the epicentre, the coasts of mainland of India also suffered hugely, and the tsunami affected more than 1200 km of coastline, across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Pondicherry. Nearly 8500 people lost their lives, and thousands more were left homeless. By far the worst casualties were in Tamil Nadu, which alone accounted for 8009 deaths. The tragedy of this event was further compounded by the inequity of its impact. Women and children were less able to get out of harms way, and accounted for an overwhelming majority of the deaths and injuries sustained. Typically, the communities worst affected by the tsunami were marginal fishing and agricultural communities living in tiny villages and hamlets that hugged the coastline, mostly dependent on natural systems for their livelihoods. The tsunami resulted in significant losses to their infrastructure and livelihoods, with thousands of fishing boats and gear destroyed, agricultural fields inundated, jetties and landing sites ruined, and roads and distribution networks badly affected. While the full scale of the impact of the 2004 tsunami on people and their livelihoods is now being gradually understood, more than two years after the event, we do not yet have a complete picture of its consequences to nearshore marine and coastal ecosystems. Although studies have been conducted at several locations along the coast, a comprehensive picture of ecosystem status does not yet exist across the land and seascape. Addressing this need is one of the major objectives of the UNDP Post-Tsunami Environment Initiative. The primary aim during the initial phase of this project was to evaluate the nature of change wrought by the tsunami on natural ecosystems across coastal lands and seascapes, and to broadly assess impacts to socio-ecological systems along the affected coast of mainland India. At one level, the programme is geared towards bringing together a range of disparate studies conducted along the coast, both before and after the tsunami to provide a picture of trends in ecological processes and the impact of the tsunami on these trends. This analysis is complemented by an analysis of satellite imagery to evaluate the immediate and mid-term consequences of this event on coastal ecosystems. At another level, the programme reviews coastal policy and developmental trends in the coastal zone, assessing its applicability, relevance and implementation in a post-tsunami context. This forms part of a longer-term initiative that builds on the critical gaps in our knowledge identified in the first phase, with specific studies and on-ground activities. Resilience and the coast While it is impossible to deny the tragedy of the 2004 tsunami, it also presents an unprecedented opportunity to critically evaluate our coastal defences, and assess the overall resilience of the Indian coastline (coastal habitats and livelihoods) to natural disturbance events. After the tsunami, much attention has been paid on building early-warning systems, and on various hard and soft engineering solutions to prevent damage in the wake of another tsunami. While future tsunamis cannot be 3 Post Tsunami Environment Initiative discounted, on the level, the threat of them affecting the Indian coast lies on a more distant horizon than rather more frequent disturbances such as cyclones, storm surges, and other such unusual weather events. From the best predictions of climate change, these stochastic events are much more likely to increase in frequency and intensity, and the Indian coastline will, in all likelihood, see major changes in its weather systems. It makes good management sense to be concentrating on our immediate responses to these more proximate events, while keeping more distant hazards always in view. In this light, understanding coastal responses to the tsunami becomes all the more important. The tsunami affected a very large section of the coast, and (with notable exceptions) with uniform intensity. Rarely has the response potential of such a large section of the Indian coast been put to test in quite the same way. A careful documentation