40 million people will at risk from rising sea-level by 2050: govt.

Nearly 40 million people in India will be at risk from the rise in sea-level by 2050, the government said on Tuesday.

“The report titled Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific, published in 2016 by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), projects that nearly 40 million people in India will be at risk from sea-level rise by 2050,” Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said in a written reply in Lok Sabha.

He said in India’s second national communication submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), sea-level is projected to rise by 3.5 to 34.6 inch between 1990 and 2100, which may result in saline coastal groundwater, endangering wetlands and inundating valuable land and coastal communities.

“The Government has published Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011 with a view to ensure livelihood security to the fisher communities and other local communities, living in the coastal areas and to conserve and protect coastal stretches,” he said.

The Integrated Coastal Management Project has also been initiated with the objective of building national capacity for implementation of comprehensive coastal management approach in the country and piloting the integrated coastal zone management approach in selected states.

“The national component of the project includes mapping, delineation and demarcation of hazard lines, all along the coast of India after taking into account the sea-level rise and other non-climatic parameters such as shore line changes, tides and waves,” he said.

A National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) has been established to promote research and development in the area of coastal management, he added.