No more stressing the coastal stretch

A desperate intervention

Intervention, largely basically because of embanking at the water front, has pushed the nation's bay past its natural limit resulting in a permanent confrontation between human and nature, in its corrective efforts. The astronomical High Tide Line (HTL) has been intercepted by embankment shrinking the coastal and estuarine stretches for inter-tidal play. The HTL is the level that tide water may normally rushup landward unobstructed. The stretches of bays, estuaries, creeks, rivers, and backwaters are thus toed by the line of intercepting embankment instead of that by HTL itself in the landward. Different government and non-government organisations are involved in development and management of this coastal stretch exploiting the natural resources.

The Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP) initiated by the government with international support has principally focused on integration and harmonisation of these different activities by public and private agencies in the entire coastal zone for sustainable utilisation of coastal resources with practically no regards to a composite coastal planning. The mining of sand at Sitakunda, ship breaking at Fauzdarhat and fish fry catch at Cox's Bazar in the recent times are only few of such innumerable examples of stressing the coast hard. The much heard about grabbing thrust on the river Buriganga has extended up to the estuary, for example, on the bank of river Karnafuli by the public body like Chittagong City Corporation and, even beyond on the sand beach of Cox's Bazar by the public and private initiatives. The million dollar massive erosion protection works at Patenga has already been vulnerable by human interventions by way of promoting unplanned tourism. The rules are there and more underway for regulating such activities but with little effect. The eviction drives as well by the public bodies had frequently been in places but proven to be inadequate. Indiscriminate interventions without a sound planning have been causing serious impacts on the shoreline and therefore into the ocean that in future may culminate in threat to life on lands.

A development and management plan of the coastal stretch is thus the need of the time.

While preparing the coastal stretch development and management plan, the landward distance from the Low Tide Line (LTL) to which the existing and upcoming regulations shall apply must be defined subject to provisions for modifications case by case basis with reasons to be recorded. The activities that need to be incorporated in the framework for development and management of the plan alongside the set of regulations relevant to the coastal stretch, among others, may include the following:

*Setting up new industries and expansion of existing industries, except those directly related to water front or directly needing foreshore facilities.

*Manufacture or handling or storage or disposal of hazardous substances.

*Setting up and expansion of fish processing unit including warehousing excluding hatchery and natural fish drying in specified areas.

*Setting up and expansion of units for disposal of water and effluent except facilities for discharging into the water course.

*Discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from industries, cities or towns and other human settlements.

*Dumping of city or town wastes for the purpose of land filling.

*Dumping of ash or any wastage from thermal power station.

*Land reclamation bonding or disturbing the natural course of sea water with similar obstruction except those required for control of erosion and other protective measures.

*Mining of sand, rocks and, other sub-strata materials except those rare materials not available outside the coastal stretch.

*Groundwater abstraction in specified area and manner.

*Construction activities in a ecologically sensitive area.

*Dressing or altering sand dunes, hills, natural features including changing landscape for beautification, recreational and other such purpose.

*Deforestation of the mangrove forestry in the foreshore.

A long-term plan of implementation with a vision of 25 years for development and management of the well defined coastal stretch incorporating the multi-agency activities in the coastal zone may help avoid pushing the future generation in an inflexible situation. The future planning of development and management of the nation's coastal stretch however requires a shift from a monopoly of water resources dimension to a mix of multi-dimensional issues. The traditional planning approach has all along truly multiplied the current problems that necessitate a change in the perception. Setting the appropriate institution for developing a framework of such implementation plan is again equally important. It may not be assigned to any particular implementing agency as in the past. The responsibility of developing the plan may be outsourced to a multi-disciplinary team of national experts under the purview of the government's central planning unit itself.

The development of the plan during the process may be shared and views exchanged amongst the public and private agencies concerned for consensus and thereafter, the approval of the government obtained. The implementation may take years in phases but shall be assigned to the appropriate public and private implementing agencies having such competence and expertise pertinent to the components of the plan. The plan may be composed of several building blocks based on district administrative boundaries facing the coast and estuary and, on hydrological, social and environmental characteristics. The district administration authority may be pivotal to the process of formulating the framework and given the ultimate responsibility of monitoring the planning and implementation at the field level under a steering arrangement at the regional and national levels. A continuous update of the plan will be an integral part of the process.

Md. Saeedur Rahman is a retired Chief Engineer of BWDB.