*Costal folk angry over moves to dilute CRZ norms* T. Nandakumar <http://www.thehindu.com/profile/author/T.-Nandakumar-576/>
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/costal-folk-angry-over-moves-to-dilute-crz-norms/article19435985.ece UPDATED: AUGUST 05, 2017 20:20 IST *Stakeholders fear impact on livelihood and environment* Coastal communities in Kerala are putting up stiff resistance to a move to replace the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification with a new enactment that allows reclamation and tourism activities along the coast. They fear that the draft Marine and Coastal Regulation Zone (MCRZ) notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) will lead to unhindered development, impacting coastal and marine ecology and affecting their livelihood. The draft notification is based on the report of an expert committee set up by the government to review the CRZ notification of 2011. The committee led by former Director, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Shailesh Nayak was constituted in 2014 after various States, including Kerala, moved the Centre seeking a dilution of the CRZ norms to take up developmental activities along the coast. Scientists and advocacy groups feel that the review had sidestepped the conservation aspects of the notification and made a mockery of the coastal zone management authorities by excluding them from the consultation process. The Centre for Policy Research (CPR), a New Delhi-based advocacy group, feels that the draft notification was prepared without public consultation, ignoring the concerns raised by coastal communities. A paper prepared by the CPR and the Namati Environment Justice Programme said the move to open up the coasts for development would entail bigger costs and risks for the fishing and coastal communities. It feared that it would dilute the objectives of coastal conservation, protection of coastal livelihoods and sustainable development of the coast. Terming the proposed changes as an infringement on the livelihood rights of coastal communities, the National Fishworkers Forum submitted a memorandum to the Central government demanding withdrawal of the draft notification. The NFF also raised stiff protest to the demarcation of the High Tide Line, which forms part of the draft notification. Calling it an arbitrary and flawed exercise undertaken by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, the forum has called for a scientific revalidation. NFF chairman Narendra Patil and general secretary T. Peter have urged the Central government to organise public hearings in all coastal States before finalising the changes to the CRZ norms. They also called for a drive to identify CRZ violations and act against them. NFF wants a comprehensive legislation to protect the rights of the fishing communities, the coastal ecology, and fisheries resources. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
