Integrated Coastal Zone Management in North Kanara Coast

Abstracts

Coastal environment contains diverse resources and productive habitats for human settlements. Local subsistence coastal zones have been among the most heavily utilized area because of their resources. The North Kanara coast has total geographic area of 10,291 km². About 0.2 million hectares of land in the study area is under agriculture and horticulture. The present study is based on 5 taluks out of total 11 taluks for better analysis. The database used for the study is mainly secondary. An extensive literature survey has also been done covering with various dimensions of resources of the coastal zone. The secondary data collected from several institutions has given a base for the research work. In North Kanara role of local people in the management is not significant, as most of the local people don’t think that they are participating adequately in the management processes. The criticalities of the problems are not similar throughout the coast. Karwar has maximum length of coastline followed by Honavar, Kumta, Bhatkal and Ankola. The area under different coastal regulation zone in different talukas varies as well. The uneven spatial development along the coastal development has resulted variation in the potentiality and challenges for development. The integrated coastal zone management is needed for the coastal zone of North Kanara. The priority areas, which should be taken under consideration for the coastal zone management of North Kanara, are pollution control as the high pollution level is leading to emergence of a number of other problems and ultimately damaging the environmental health of coastal zone.