Coastal Management: Resolving Climate Change Issues Through a Statutory Framework

Abstract

India’s long coastline has been impacted by unregulated human activities, rapid economic growth, and indiscriminate urbanization and sea level rise leaving marine areas distressed. There is overwhelming scientific evidence to suggest that rise in sea levels along India’s coast has been rising at the rate of 1.3mm per year and is likely to rise in future uninfluenced by curbs in the rise of global temperatures. India’s coastal management is undermined by the absence of a comprehensive statutory framework, the ensuing laxity in enforcement and compliance of regulatory norms and the absence of measures to protect its cultural and natural heritage. There is an undeniable need to configure a legal framework for coastal management that has in its core, an agenda that addresses climate change, promotes sustainable development and issues a mandate for adaptation and ultimately meets international standards. This paper will attempt to present an argument in favor of a statutory framework that will enhance the integrated coastal zone management plan in India, resolving conflicts arising out of economic, social and environmental issues encompassing coastal zone regulation.