Coastal Zone Management

Coastal Zone Management

Introduction

Coastal Zones

Coastal regions of the world are a kind of mystery of the environment, widespread, changing with time and a place to be where beauty of the nature is as common as in any part of the world. Coast is generally a part of the land while coastal zones are spatial zones where both sea and land processes combine (Sharma, 2009). For any country in the world, the importance of these coastal zones is tremendous. It is one of the hugest and productive zones of the world where people live on their businesses related to fishes and other seafood items. These food items also make one of the most extensive varieties of healthy food for hundreds and millions of people around the globe. Meanwhile, several people are also associated in order to earn their living from the aquaculture and fishery industries. The presence of these coastal zones increases worthiness of any country in any region. These coats also act a safety belt around the human civilizations near the beaches, while at the same time they also act as an obstacle to minimize the effects of natural disasters.

Pressures on the Coastal Zones

Everyday day these coastal zones are worldwide are subjected to different kinds of pressures both including natural and pressures from human population. For instance, humans have no control over winds and waves which are material and influence the coastal landscape. Specially, during worst times of severe coastal storms that include heavy rains and hurricanes bring such dominating waves which have the capacity to change the overall pictures of any coastal zone, may it be in any part of the world. This is one of the reasons why, changes in any natural environment is never predictable and always expected and takes the coastal regions to an ever changing process. Besides the natural changes to these coastal zones, human pressures also influence coastal regions. It should be noted that the effects of human created pressured on these coastal zones can be long lasting. Any activity by human can act as hurdles in the way of several natural processes at the coasts, which will ultimately present ecosystems to continue working naturally. If any human activity is happening on land or terrestrial region near any coastal region, it will surely have its influence on the marine environment and life as well. The worst part of the human pressures on these coastal regions is that any population alteration increases the importance of coastal storms and also sea level rise. Overharvesting of fisheries around the world in another factor. Climate change is also effecting world's coral reefs and marine ecosystems. Almost all the coastal around the world are highly disastrous due to hurricanes and other coastal storms and the fact the human population has now started living in the way of these disasters, they cannot be diverted nor prevented (Beatley, Brower & Schwab, 2002).

Integrated Coastal Zone Management in India

According to the European Union, Integrated Coastal Zone Management ...