IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL REGIONS

 

IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL REGIONS

 

Key words: Coastal region of India, Biodiversity, Bay of Bengal, Ecosystem, Bird megapod, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Klang port, Environmental impact, Malacca Strait, South China Sea

GS-3rd Paper UPSC/UPPCS Syllabous: Conservation, Environmental pollution and Degradation, Environmental impact assessment.

Reference:

  • India has lagged behind in terms of development in the coastal region. The development of India's coastal areas can be strategically important for the new economy for the country and for the challenge from countries like China.
  • For the development of shipping in the Bay of Bengal, a plan is proposed to construct a transhipment port at a cost of ten thousand crore rupees.
  • The Government of India plans to develop this port as a major center of port development activities.
  • In this sequence of development, the country's first marine optical fiber project has been inaugurated to provide fast internet facility from Chennai to Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Benefits from the Development of Coastal Regions

  • This will provide better and cheaper broadband connectivity to the island group.
  • The role of these coastal areas will increase in the trade of the 21st century.
  • This will increase India's share in maritime trade and create new jobs for the youth.
  • In this region, facilities for loading and unloading of cargo from modernly built ships will be available at the port, which will increase the movement of large ships.
  • Development of Free Trade Warehousing Zone in the southern Gulf of Nicobar Islands will speed up the process of container transshipment terminal.
  • This will give Indian shipping a new transshipment option at Colombo (Sri Lanka), Singapore and Klang Port in Malaysia.
  • After the infrastructural development of Andaman-Nicobar, the business of fish farming, aquaculture and seaweed farming will increase here.
  • Coastal fishermen in the Andaman-Nicobar region will directly benefit from the development of the region.

Strategic and tactical importance of development of coastal areas:

  • With the development of coastal areas, the Bay of Bengal, South and South-East Asian Sea region will provide important and useful control facility to India from strategic and commercial point of view.
  • It will be easier to prevent China's interference in Malacca Strait and South China Sea. Chinese ships carrying oil from the Gulf and exporting goods to the West pass through the Strait of Malacca.
  • The site is close to the western entrance of the Malacca Straits. Sri Lanka and Sumatra Island of Indonesia are at a close distance from here.
  • India will start getting the facility of dockyard on Nicobar Island to keep and build military material, missiles and warships.

 

Environmental side-effects from the Development of Coastal Regions:

Due to the development of coastal region, environmentalists are expressing apprehension of the following environmental side effects in these regions because these regions are very sensitive from the environmental point of view-

  • The development of this project will cause huge damage to the ancient rain forests here.
  • The risk of extinction of many rare animal and plant species will increase.
  • The monsoon of these regions will also be affected.
  • This development is to be within 10 km radius of Galathea Bay and Campbell Bay National Parks, hence there will be a decrease in biodiversity here.
  • There are fifty-one nests of the flightless bird Megapad, out of which thirty will be completely destroyed. Hence the original habitat of the species will be destroyed.
  • The natural life of the primitive tribal group in Nicobar Islands is also likely to be affected.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

  • The Nicobar Islands are spread over an area of ten thousand forty four square km.
  • These include Shompen and Nicobarese forest dwelling tribes. Their number is about 1761.

Biodiversity:

  • Nicobar is also home to a special species of flightless bird Megapad. Special species of leatherback turtles, saltwater crocodiles, Nicobarese crab-eating macaques and migratory birds are found here.
  • There are mangrove trees and coral reefs spread over ten hectares.
  • The Nicobar region of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands comes under the Biosphere Reserve.
  • It was given the status of special biosphere in 2013. There are a total of eighteen biosphere regions in India, one of them is in the category of Nicobar tribal (tribal) reserved forest land.
  • The Government of India is developing the Nicobar coast on the lines of Singapore under the 'Great Nicobar Islands Project' (GNI).

Conclusion:

  • In fact, India is moving forward with the determination of indigenization and self-reliance in every field. Along with this, it is engaged in establishing itself as a reliable businessman by participating in the global manufacturing and supply chain of goods. From this point of view, it is necessary to do infrastructural development of rivers, sea waterways and ports in a modern way. Within the coming five-six years, India will be able to modernize these waterways and ports.
  • Not India, but many countries of the world are seeing huge possibilities of business in this perspective. With this in view, a pilot project was started at Port Blair, the results of which have been encouraging.
  • However, the Zoological Survey of India and the Forest and Environment Department of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration have claimed that the project will not allow harm to forests and animals. This mega project is considered very important from the point of view of national security and civil purposes.
  • India can increase its strategic and commercial importance by developing islands and sea coasts like Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai.

---------------------------------------------------------------------