Lok Sabha Question No. 3040 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-06
Subject: Coastal Research related to Shoreline Erosion
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Achyutananda Samanta

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 3040 TO BE ANSWERED ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 06, 2019

## COASTAL RESEARCH RELATED TO SHORELINE EROSION

## 3040. SHRI RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU:

## SHRI ACHYUTANANDA SAMANTA:

Will the Minister of EARTH SCIENCES be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the progress made in the country in coastal research related to shoreline erosion and coastal vulnerability;
- (b) whether the Government is aware that according to a study conducted by the  Centre  for  Coastal  Research,  Chennai  -  India  has  witnessed  33  per cent  coastal  erosion  which  has  led  to  contamination  of  groundwater, displacement  of  people,  loss  of  livelihood  and  many  other  such  related damages;
- (c) if  so,  whether  the  Government  intends  to  take  action  under  its  climate change action plan to prevent coastal erosion and protecting the coastal ecosystem, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) whether  the  country  has  the  required  advanced  technology  for  ocean State forecast and weather prediction; and
- (e) the  details  of  ocean  state  forecast  and  weather  prediction  tools  in operation for coastal Andhra Pradesh and the accuracy of such tools?

## ANSWER MINISTER FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

- (a) Yes Sir. National Center for Coastal Research (NCCR), an attached office of  Ministry  of  Earth  Sciences  (MoES)  undertakes  research  related  to shoreline  management,  storm  surge  modeling,  Tsunami  modeling  and vulnerability mapping at various locations along Indian coast to understand  the  issues  related  to  shoreline  erosion.    Causes  of  coastal erosion and closure of tidal inlets were studied at most vulnerable sites along  the  Indian  coast  and  16  site  specific  shoreline/inlet  management plans  were  prepared  for  coastal  protection.  Shoreline  change  maps  at 1:25000 scale have been prepared for the period 1990-2016 and information  has  been  disseminated  to  the  coastal  states.  The  Coastal Vulnerability  Index  (CVI)  mapping  has  been  undertaken  for  few  hot-spot locations along the Tamil Nadu coast.
- (b) NCCR has analyzed the data of about 6632 km long mainland coastline for 26 years (1990-2016) and observed that about 2247 km (34%) of mainland coast is under varying degree of erosion i.e. low, moderate and high. The study of NCCR does not assess impact of coastal erosion on contamination of groundwater, displacement of people, loss of livelihood etc. for the entire coast of India.
- (c) Yes Sir. The Ministry of Environment Forest &Climate Change has issued the  Coastal  Regulation  Zone  (CRZ),  2019  Notification  with  a  view  to conserve and protect the unique environment of the coastal stretches and marine areas,  besides  livelihood  security  to  the  fisher  communities  and other local communities in the coastal areas. There is no specific mission to prevent coastal erosion and to protect coastal ecosystems under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC).
- (d) Yes Sir.
- (e) The  ocean  state  forecast  and  weather  prediction  provided  to  Andhra Pradesh are based on numerical models and High Performance Computing (HPC) systems. The ocean state forecasts on an average are accurate to 85-90% level while the Tsunami storm surge predictions are accurate at 90%  level.  The  accepted  accuracies  by  the  international  groups  is 70%.The cyclone forecast accuracy has significantly improved in recent years  resulting  in  drastic  reduction  in  loss  of  life.    For  example,  the cyclone landfall forecast errors were improved to 15.6, 15.6 and 46.7 km for  24,  48  and  60  hrs  lead  period  from  past  five  year (2013-17)  average errors of 42.3, 94.8 and 115.4km respectively for the Titli cyclone in the year 2018. This cyclone had the track forecast errors of about 98, 114 and 113  km  for  24,  48  and  72  hrs lead  period  against  past  five  year  (201317)average errors of 93, 144 and 201 km respectively.

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