Socio-economic implications of coastal zone degradation and their mitigation: a case study from coastal villages in India

The coastal zones are home to almost 60% of the people worldwide. The land–water interface at the coast results in high fish productivity. Industrialization has resulted in the creation of urban agglomerations on the coast primarily because of facilitation of trade by way of sea. Environmental problems resulting from industrialization and urbanization have had disastrous effect on the coastal ecology and on the socio-economic status of a number of coastal communities. The concept of “integrated coastal management” is central to the management of coastal zones and ocean areas under national jurisdiction in Chapter 17 of the Agenda 21, adopted at the UNCED in 1992. For this to be effective, coastal zone communities have to be involved, and this will be sustainable only if their socio-economic conditions are improved. This paper reports on one such attempt made in India where a global NGO is working along with a local NGO to improve the socio-economic as well as environmental conditions of a part of the east coast of India. The focus has been on achieving economic security by creating new avenues for employment and using micro-credit schemes as a forerunner for environmental protection activities.