Occupation of the coast – Blue Economy in India

The report states that, as of 2010, there are 40,56,213 traditional fishers – those for whom fishing is an ancestral occupation and who have been fishing since birth. They live along the peninsular coastline which spans 8,118 kilometres. Fishing for them is not simply an occupation, but the “fulcrum around which the communities’ identities, cultures, daily lives and sustenance revolve”, the report adds.

In 1991, the Central Government introduced the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ), through which different coastal zones were demarcated with differing levels of protection. The regulation was criticised for not institutionalising the rights of local communities adequately. 

By 2025, the Sagarmala project aims to mobilise Rs. 4 lakh crores from infrastructural investment, save around 35,000 to 40,000 crores annually on logistics, and boost exports by USD 119 billion. It aims to do so by increasing efficiency of ports by “modernisation and expansion” of existing ports and creation of new ports. 

Multiple issues have been identified with the Sagarmala project, regarding inconsistencies in information provided; economic goals that prioritise economic growth over livelihoods; environmental degradation; displacement of coastal communities; lack of transparency, especially regarding information on projects implemented between 2015-17; and it encourages Public-Private Partnership (PPP) without studying past failures of similar methods. 

The Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Port project in Kerala, awarded to the sole bidder Adani Ports & SEZ in 2015, requires Rs. 4,089 crore and 351 acres of land (with 131 of these being reclaimed). Its proximity to the international East-West shipping route, coupled with the reduced trade costs and the deep natural draft is believed to boost business. Port operation are to be undertaken through the PPP model for a stipulated time period.

As per the Marine Census, the number of full-time fishworkers in Gujarat has reduced between 2005 and 2010, particularly in Valsad, Surat, Navsari and Junagadh. This directly correlates to industrialisation along the coast, the report notes.

The report states that livelihood of 25,000 people is dependent on fishing along the 560 km stretch between Sagar to Farakka. The majority of the population in this region are socioeconomically backward and 65-73 per cent of their total income is generated from fishing. Yet, livelihood problems are faced by at least 10 per cent of the surveyed families on the lower stretches, 27 per cent on the middle stretches, and 62 per cent of the upper stretches.

'Blue Carbon' is the carbon dioxide that is stored in coastal ecosystems, notably mangroves, tidal marshes and seagrass meadows. The project around them attempts to make coastal ecosystems a key tool to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions. An UN-report makes the case for protecting and revitalizing coastal ecosystems by documenting their ability to absorb and store carbon, and the need to ‘value’ this service and create mechanisms to allow for trade in blue carbon.

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands possess a big Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), accounting for 30 per cent of all of India’s EEZs. The government has plans to set up structures to boost the military, which includes a nuclear submarine-centric fleet as well as a 250 MW nuclear power station. These plans are linked to the reduction in local tribal population, especially – the Great Andamanese, the Onge, the Jarawa and the Sentinelese. Their population has decreased from around 5,000 in the late 19th century to around 500 at the time of the report’s publication.

Focus and Factoids by M S Samhita.