BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha government has taken a decision to implement a community-based action plan from the current year as a necessary step towards enhancing climate resilience of coastal communities. It will address the livelihood issues of the people, who have been affected or will be affected by climate induced calamities like coastal erosion and tidal surge.
A day after TOI highlighted the coastal erosion and tidal surge issue, chief secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra on Monday discussed the action plan in the steering committee of Integrated Coastal Management Society (ICZMS) held in digital mode.
Mahapatra directed the officials to focus on regeneration of coastal ecosystems, and promotion of climate resilient sustainable livelihood in the coastal communities. He focussed on preparation of an annual action plan in consultation with the respective communities.
The chief secretary also directed to prioritize the villages that generally face climate induced calamities over the years. It was also decided to increase the density of mangrove forest and sea grass for enriching the coastal ecosystem and reducing the impact of tidal surge and storm.
He asked the officers to explore all possible places for development of ecotourism with boating and wildlife watching facilities. It was decided to prepare the livelihood plan as per need of the people and potential of the concerned areas.
Sushanta Nanda, project director of ICZMS, said the interventions will be rolled out from the current year and will be completed by 2026-27. An amount of Rs 261.50 crore will be invested. The main coastal landscapes to be treated under the project will include the areas like Talsari in Balasore district, Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district, Bahuda and Chilika in Ganjam district and Devi Mouth and Chilika in Puri district. Around 3,75,321 hectares of coastal area spreading over 339 gram panchayats and five forest divisions will be included in it, he added.
The project will help the state government in addressing the impacts of the climatic hazards and disasters on the vulnerable coastal communities through popularization of the climate adaptive livelihood activities. The community-based organizations including NGOs, eco-clubs, women self-help groups and local village communities will be involved in the planning, execution and carrying forward of the intervention, said the officials.
Among others, additional chief secretary water resources Anu Garg, additional chief secretary revenue and disaster management Satyabrata Sahu and other officials participated in the deliberations.
