ANDHRA PRADESH CYCLONE HAZARD MITIGATION PROJECT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTEGRATED COSTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT (ICZM) ***************************************************************************** Following the destruction caused by two cyclones and repeated floods during June to November in 1996, the Government of Andhra Pradesh (GoAP), India, started the ‘Cyclone Hazard Mitigation Project’. The overall objective of the project was to provide a system that minimises impacts due to cyclone natural disasters, as well as enhances sustainable development of the coastal zone. To meet this objective, the project consisted of two major components: 1) the set-up of a real time early warning system and 2) the formulation of an IntegratedCoastal Zone Management (ICZM) Programme. The early warning system focused on the short-term and operationalmeasures to be taken, while the ICZM programme dealt with development of long-term strategies to reduce the vulnerability of the coastal area to cyclone hazards.For the ICZM programme, the objectives were to promote optimum utilisation of coastal resources, minimisation of impacts due to cyclone disasters and improvements in equitable quality of life levels while ensuring environmental protection and biodiversity conservation.The project was jointly funded by a World Bank loan and by the Government of Andhra Pradesh. The project was conducted by the consortium of Deltares / Delft Hydraulics (lead firm) together with Flood Hazard Research Center (UK), DHV Consultants (NL), Coastal Zone Management Center (NL), UK Met Office (UK),HR Wallingford (UK), Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UK) Consulting Engineering Services (India), JPS Associates (India) and MDP Consultants (India). Client --------- Government of Andhra Pradesh, State Disaster Management Society, Hyderabad, India. Period --------- June 1999 - November 2003. Background ---------------- Andhra Pradesh is the fifth largest state in India. It is situated along the eastern coast of India, bordering the Bay of Bengal, and has a coastline of 1030 km. The nine coastal districts are highly vulnerable to natural hazards like floods due to river waters and cyclones originating from the Bay of Bengal, as well as heavy rains and winds associated with cyclones. Why ICZM? --------------- Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) is a process aimed at sustainable development of coastal zones. It focuses on existing and long-term coastal management issues, including habitat loss, changes in hydrological cycles, depletion of coastal resources, degradation of water quality, and adaptation to sea level rise and other impacts of global climate change. ICZM is relevant for all coastal areas, and is especially meaningful for developing countries that generally face a dilemma of balancing economic development (often in coastal areas) with environmental protection. ICZM can be characterised as: • multi-sectoral - not just agriculture, or fisheries or port development alone; • multi-level - not just at the village level, or the level of the state government; and • multi-agent - not just the public sector, but also incorporating the needs and driving factors in the private sector. The population of 16 million living in the coastal zone is also vulnerable to deteriorating environmental conditions which threaten peoples’ livelihood and future development of the coastal zone. Land degradation, groundwater salinisation, fuel wood shortages, dwindling mangrove forests, fish and prawn stocks together with increasing pollution loads into air, soil and water are the main threats. Population increase and inadequately controlled industrial and aquaculture development compound the problems. There is still substantial poverty, despite years of high economic growth. Cyclones and vulnerability ----------------------------------- ICZM provides a valuable framework for developing long-term strategies to reduce the vulnerability of the coastal area to cyclone hazards. The damage and losses that a cyclone provokes depend on a number of factors, the most important being: • the severity of the cyclone itself; • the local geomorphology of the coastal area at the landfall point (e.g. the land level, the presence or absence of mangroves, a sand spit, a (protective) lagoon etc.); • the preparedness and awareness of the local people and infrastructure; and • the effectiveness of early warning Due to these factors, not every part of the Andhra Pradesh coast is equally vulnerable. Especially susceptible are low-lying areas such as the deltas, which also may have to cope with high river discharges and are therefore highly prone to flooding. For the population living in the coastal zone, cyclones are not the only factor which threatens their existence. The socio-economic analysis of the coastal zone showed that: • cyclones are just one of several natural and man-made hazards in the area, including drought, water pollution, unsanitary conditions, poor health, and salt water aquifer intrusion; Percentage of area with different flood hazards, East Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh • cyclone impacts, while serious, are not significantly inhibiting longterm development in the area (as measured by annual average damage compared with total annual income), and indeed are not the causes of poverty in the area. This is because the total economic activity of any one area over several years far outweighs the damage impacts that the relatively infrequent cyclones can cause in that location; and • sustainable recovery from cyclones is weakest and slowest in the communities and households that have the lowest incomes. This is mainly because those who have higher incomes often have various protection systems such as modest assets (i.e. capital) and/or social connections (social capital) that they can call on for help at times of crisis such as during and after cyclone events. Expert DSS on ICZM ----------------------------- The Expert Decision Support System on ICZM is a custom built computer system that links land use, socioeconomy, resource- and environmental management, as well as cyclone vulnerability. It calculates the effects of scenarios and policy measures on people’s income, environmental quality and vulnerability to cyclones. The aim of the EDSS-ICZM is to assist decision making with regard to measures and policies that can be taken by AP Government to improve equitable quality of life levels, to safeguard the environment and to reduce vulnerability of the coastal population Using the EDSS-ICZM, planning development in AP’s coastal region will be facilitated by studying the effects of the various options of strategies and choices made. AP’s EDSS-ICZM combines a very extensive set of functionalities, which does not have equals world-wide. ICZM Strategic Action Programme ---------------------------------------------- A Strategic Action Programme (SAP) summarising ICZM potentials for Andhra Pradesh was prepared. The strategy focuses on cyclone hazard mitigation, but is not based on the development of physical infrastructure alone. The need to enhance the medium and long terms strength of local communities and local economies - alongside environmental protection is stressed. It was concluded that economic development is the key factor in reducing vulnerability of the population to cyclone disasters. Specifically, economic development is the only route towards sustainable cyclone impact mitigation as opposed to a reliance on event-focused relief and emergency measures which are focussed on the very short term. The ICZM Strategic Action Programme highlights the importance of several key sectors: • Health and family planning, to ensure that the population is more resilient and less vulnerable to any crisis (this is the role of the public sector); • Education, so that skills are developed and productivity increased in all sectors (this is also the role of the public sector); and • Continued agricultural intensification, so that surpluses can be sold as cash crops thus creating surpluses for investment in new activities (this is part public and part private); • Sustainable aquaculture, developed in an environmentally responsible way so that income sources are diversified (this could be predominantly private sector but regulated by the public sector so as to discourage excessive development and environmental degradation); • The development of other industries, that can grow in the future and give employment to a growing population; • Power supply, to facilitate and service the enhanced economic activity; and • Transport, so that goods can get to market in an efficient and low-cost manner. Benefits of the project ------------------------------ The project provides the Andhra Pradesh Government with a number of tools and products for implementation of ICZM in Andhra Pradesh. An extensive GIS database contains geographical as well as statistical data such as population statistics, transport infrastructure, settlements and towns, flood hazards, status of natural resources and land use. The GIS forms the backbone of a Expert Decision Support System on ICZM. A Strategic Action Plan for implementation of ICZM practices has been prepared together with staff of the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Because ICZM is a new way of working in India, on the job training was provided to Government of Andhra Pradesh staff, so that in the future, ICZM concepts can be incorporated in the coastal planning process.
Posted on: Wed, 15 Oct 2014 10:38:32 +0000
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