http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorial_cartoon/2013/08/12/editorial_cartoon_august_12.html
(For general info: Saskatchewan is landlocked in the centre of Canada) ---------------------------------------- > From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Subject: Goa Beaches - Quo Vadis? > Date: Wed, 7 Aug 2013 21:52:30 -0400 > > The Editor > Navhind Papers and Publications, > Navhind Bhavan, > Panaji, > Goa 403001 > > Dear Sir: > > Goa Beaches - Quo Vadis? > > I have read in your paper, with dismay, about the illegal sand extraction in > Amona. > I have written many times about this subject and have personally lobbied > Chief Minister M Parrikar (during his previous term) on this subject. > I have witnessed beach sand extraction continuing unabated for many years. > > We have all been cautioned by the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, > which monitors sea-level rise. > They estimate a mean sea level rise from tide gauge data at selected stations > along the coast of a rise of less than 1 mm/year. (Current Science, February > 10, 2006) > i.e. according to NIO the sea should have risen 0.7cm by this year. But > Kerala has already experienced 1 cm rise. So sea levels are rising faster > than forecast. > The devastation on Kerala's coastline is being duplicated in Goa. > > Severe weather patterns of the type of hurricanes Katrina and Sandy and > recent devastating flooding in Uttarakhand are now considered to be not > unusual. You just have to ask citizens of New Jersey how scary it was to see > huge volumes of sea water rush inland and engulf their cities. > Most climate change models had forecast a global sea-level rise of half a > meter (over 1½ feet) by 2100. (i.e. 50 cm). > Now new projections show that by 2050, if not sooner, the world's oceans will > rise about a meter, and this will be just enough to inundate the Maldives, > parts of Bangladesh, other Pacific islands and many low coastal areas in the > U.S., Asia and other nations. > > Currently a number of islands in the South Pacific are already not longer > habitable due to sea water entering their aquifers. People are moving to > larger islands. > > You do not have to be a genius to realize that 50 to 100 times the rise in > sea lea levels will make our beaches disappear sooner than we think - perhaps > within the next 15 to 30 years the beaches that have attracted tourists to > Goa will not be there. > We will be left with sea, rocks and an embankment of tetra pods which will > only serve to protect the illegal structures built in the CRZ. > > To exacerbate the bad situation we have people (aided and abetted by local > politicians, no doubt) pilfering our sand. > Those with computers can see the NDTV expose done in 2011 where incredulously > our (previous) Minister of the Environment talks about legalizing sand > extraction for construction. Sigh! > (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8USUCcjObo and > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld-l6tf1pcI) > > Consider the case of Florida which relies heavily on tourism (like Goa). > The Floridians consider that beach erosion threatens the very resource that > residents and visitors enjoy. > What are they doing about it? > They are restoring eroded beaches through beach nourishment. In a typical > beach nourishment project, sand (hundreds of tons) is collected from an > offshore location by a dredge and is piped onto the beach. because it > provides a significant level of storm protection benefits for upland > properties and is the least impacting to the coastal system. An additional > benefit of beach restoration projects is that they quickly restore shorebird > and marine turtle habitat. > > > And we think that allowing just the opposite to happen is OK? > > > Tim de Mello > Canada
