Some implications of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) legislation for the coast of Goa

Abstract

Since the 1970`s, coastal ecosystems have come under heavy onslaught of tourism and related anthropogenic activities. Lack of guidelines for human intervention along coasts prompted the Ministry of Environment and Forests to promulgate a legal framework known as the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification in 1991. This law was meant to control and minimise impacts on sensitive ecosystems. The CRZ Notification is significantly comprehensive and clear in most respects, and can be classified as equal to and even better than laws of other maritime countries of the world. Nevertheless, it came under attack from various stakeholders. As such, there have been conflicts on the need for buffer zones, controversies about high tide line position, limits of tidal action in rivers, and doubts whether sand dunes deserve protection. Competition over limited coastal spaces, discordant views on crucial coastal issues, lack of political initiative, and deceptive enforcement of prevailing laws have resulted in a haphazard growth of coasts and infringements of coastal regulations. Unplanned development has resulted in significant alterations of landforms where sand dunes, in particular, have borne the brunt of human actions and are rapidly being eliminated. The prospects of CRZ legislation remain bleak. In 2005, a revisit of CRZ guidelines was initiated. In 2008, a new document known as the Coastal Management Zone (CMZ) was notified. A sustained unrest all over the littoral states of India followed, as a result of which the instrument is likely to be withdrawn. Since there is no solution in sight, an integrated management of coasts by considering ecosystems in conjunction with socio-economic set-up, is the only sustainable alternative that can guarantee the conservation of coastal ecosystems of Goa