(a) whether the sea level is rising due to climate change;
(b) if so, the areas around coastal region, island and deltaic regions are vulnerable to be submerged;
(c) if so, the details of the areas to be affected in the next 20 years; and
(d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to protect the people living in these areas?
MINISTER OF THE STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) IN THE MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRIMATI JAYANTHI NATARAJAN)
(a) to (c) As per the study conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography, of the tide gauge records from the north Indian Ocean
for more than 40 years, it is observed that the sea-level rose by 1.06-1.75 millimetres per year in the past century. This estimate is
consistent with the estimated global sea-level rise of 1-2 millimetres per year made by the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC).
The report titled “Climate Change and India: 4X4 Assessment - A Sectoral and Regional Analysis for 2030s†published in 2010, has not provided
any short term specific projection. However, according to the India’s Initial National Communication submitted to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2004, one-metre sea level rise at global scale by the end of the 21st century is projected to
submerge approximately 5,764 square kilometres of land area.
(d) National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) released by the Government on June 30, 2008 includes the National Mission on Sustainable
Habitat which comprises inter alia activities for managing coastal zone. The Coastal Regulation Zone Notification and Island Protection Zone
Notification were published in 2011 with an aim of protecting livelihoods of fisher folk communities, preservation of ecology and promotion
of economic activity in island and coastal areas.
Government of India with the assistance of the World Bank has also initiated a project on ‘Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan’’
for mapping of a hazard line along the coastal areas of the country taking into account the sea level rise due to climate change and
other parameters such as, shoreline change, tides and wave.