GS Paper 3
Syllabus: Environmental Conservation
Source: The Hindu
Direction: Note down a few pointers. People giving mains this year, keep a note prepared on coastal ecosystem prepared.
Context: Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled a report in Parliament on whether steps taken by the Union Environment Ministry to conserve India’s coastal ecosystems have been successful.
Findings of ‘performance audits’ of Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems from 2015-20:
- National Coastal Zone Management Authorities (NCZMA) is still functioning as an ad-hoc body: Thus, impacting consistency in coastal conservation
- Delay or non-existent State/UT Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMA):
- g., Karnataka has still not constituted it while Goa, West Bengal and Odisha have delayed its reconstitution. In Andhra Pradesh, District Level Committees were not even established
- Several projects approved despite the EIA report highlighted inconsistency: Incidences of illegal construction activities (reducing coastal space) and effluent discharges from local bodies, industries and aquaculture farms
- Other issues in EIA: non-accredited consultants preparing the EIA, using outdated data, and not evaluating the environmental impacts of the project
- Expert Appraisal Committees not being present during project deliberations.
- Members of the EAC were fewer than half of the total strength during the deliberations.
- State-level issues:
- States haven’t yet prepared Integrated Management Plan for Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas.
- Tamil Nadu didn’t have a strategy in place to conserve the Gulf of Mannar Islands.
- Goa: there was no system for monitoring coral reefs and no management plans to conserve turtle nesting sites.
Recommendations:
- NCZMA and SCZMA be made permanent
- Proper ecological evaluation before granting clearances
- Preparing detailed map and management plan for coral reefs, turtle nesting sites etc.
Background:
Conservation of Coastal areas is governed under Environmental Protection Act 1986. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification (CRZ) 2019, classifies the coastal area into different zones to manage infrastructure activities and regulate them.
The three institutions responsible for the implementation of the CRZ are:
- National Coastal Zone Management Authority (NCZMA) at the Centre
- State/Union Territory Coastal Zone Management Authorities (SCZMAs/UTCZMAs) in every coastal State and Union Territory
- District Level Committees (DLCs) in every district
These three bodies examine if:
- CRZ clearances granted by the government are as per procedure
- Project developers once given the go-ahead are complying with conditions
- Project development objectives under the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme (ICZMP) are successful.
Insta Links
Mains Link
Q. Critically examine Coastal Regulation Zone rules from the perspective of environmental and distributive justice. Discuss. (15M)
Prelims Link
What is blue carbon?
(a) Carbon captured by oceans and coastal ecosystems.
(b) Carbon sequestered in forest biomass and agricultural soils.
(c) Carbon is contained in petroleum and natural gas.
(d) Carbon present in the atmosphere
Answer: A
Two important rivers- one with its sources in Jharkhand (and Known by a different name in Odisha, and another, with its source in Odisha- merge at a place only a short distance from the coast of the Bay of Bengal before flowing into the sea. This is an important site of wildlife and biodiversity and a protected area. Which one of the following could be this?
(a) Bhitarkanika
(b) Chandipur-on-sea
(c) Gopalpur-on-sea
(d) Simlipal
Answer: A
