In view of a barrage of challenges from flooding to shoreline changes to disease outbreaks posing serious threat to the lives of coastal people, the ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) here has suggested developing climate-smart villages to check the risks in the region.
In a report presented by the CMFRI at the global conclave on mainstreaming climate change into international fisheries governance, held in Chennai recently, the institute said it prioritises the development of climate-smart villages by providing training and resources to coastal fishers and farmers in vulnerable villages.
The global conclave was organised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in collaboration with the Union Department of Fisheries and the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP) from October 17 to 19 in Chennai.
The report pointed out that increased frequency of cyclones, subsequent storm surges and coastal flooding are causing social and economic hardship among the coastal communities, making them the most vulnerable to climate emergency, CMFRI said in a release.
'Water clinics', AI and satellite remote sensing-based prediction of harvest to address inter-annual fluctuations, species distribution models, exploration of untapped deep-sea resources are some of the smart solutions presented by CMFRI.
"Tropical cyclones, floods, excess rainfall and receding coastline have a cascading impact on fishers' safety and livelihoods which leave the community with loss of income, loss of property, health problems and unemployment," Dr Grinson George, Head of the Marine Biodiversity Management and Environment Division of the CMFRI said while presenting the report at the conclave.
CMFRI said the report focused on India's status of climate resilience initiatives in the marine fisheries sector.
The institute also suggested 'water clinics' to address the increasing cases of disease outbreaks in the coastal region.
Waterborne diseases are on the rise in coastal areas owing to storm surges and flooding," George said, adding that the rising sea surface temperatures aggravates the issue as it contributes to an increased microbial load in the waters.
He said proper testing of the water quality and community awareness are some of the possible solutions to address the issue and the proposed 'water clinics' are aimed in this direction.
CMFRI also proposed a slew of smart solutions including Integrated Multi-trophic Aquaculture (IMTA), seaweed farming, mangrove forestation and other adaptation and mitigation measures to safeguard fishers.
In addition, it suggested AI and satellite remote sensing in the estimation and prediction of marine harvest so that climate based inter-annual fluctuations can be addressed.
