Ramachandran, A; Saleem Khan, A; Usha, N; Punitha, S; Selvam, V(Elsevier, August 23, 2012)
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Abstract:
Low-lying coastal areas are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as they are highly prone for
inundation to SLR (Sea-Level Rise). This study presents an appraisal of the impacts of SLR on the coastal
natural resources and its dependent social communities in the low-lying area of VellareColeroon
estuarine region of the Tamil Nadu coast, India. Digital Elevation Model (DEM) derived from SRTM
90M (Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission) data, along with GIS (Geographic Information System) techniques
are used to identify an area of inundation in the study site. The vulnerability of coastal areas in
Vellar-Coleroon estuarine region of Tamil Nadu coast to inundation was calculated based on the projected
SLR scenarios of 0.5 m and 1 m. The results demonstrated that about 1570 ha of the LULC (Land use
and Land cover) of the study area would be permanently inundated to 0.5 m and 2407 ha for 1 m SLR and
has also resulted in the loss of three major coastal natural resources like coastal agriculture, mangroves
and aquaculture. It has been identified that six hamlets of the social communities who depend on these
resources are at high-risk and vulnerable to 0.5 m SLR and 12 hamlets for 1 m SLR. From the study, it has
been emphasized that mainstreaming adaptation options to SLR should be embedded within a coastal
zone management and planning effort, which includes all coastal natural resources (ecosystem-based
adaptation), and its dependent social communities (community-based adaptation) involved through
capacity building