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To: Prakash Javadekar, Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
CRZ notification, 2018 will spell doom for India's coastal ecology
Denotify the new Coastal Regulatory Zone notification, 2018.
Why is this important?
On January 18, 2019, the Environment Ministry released the CRZ notification, 2018, opening up the coastline of the country for construction and tourism activities.
On December 28, the Union Cabinet approved the vehemently opposed Coastal Regulation Zone, 2018 notification, much to the dismay of lakhs of fisherfolk in the country. This notification is unwelcome, and will ring the death knell for India's coastal communities and its fragile ecosystem.
Here are some of the problems with the notification
*By reducing the “No Development Zone” in some areas to a mere 50m from the high tide line, coastal areas have been thrown open to commercial interests like tourism, real estate and industries
*It permits activities like reclamation of land for eco-tourism and big infrastructure projects, throwing open fragile eco-sensitive areas for built out.
*It violates article 51A(g) of the Indian Constitution that mandates the protection and improvement of the natural environment, including forest, lakes, rivers and wildlife.
*It encourages densification of population and investment on the coast. A 2018 report by the United Nations Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that close to 50 million people living in coastal India are prone to be affected due to climate change-induced sea level rise.
Activities that are detrimental to our coastal ecology, affect livelihoods of local fishing communities and affect the biodiversity have been granted positive approval. This notification also regularizes the violations to CRZ and opens the way to further destruction of our coastal ecology.
In April last year, the ministry had released the draft notification and invited suggestions and comments from the citizens. Over 900 Jhatkaa.org members had sent an email to the ministry with their suggestions. Unfortunately, the cabinet has approved the notification without considering any of those suggestions.
It's time we came together again to remind the Government of their duty to ensure our environment is protected and the traditional livelihoods it sustains are not destroyed.
Sign this petition asking the Environment Ministry to denotify the CRZ Notification, 2018.