DUNES: GCZMA SURVEY
BEACH .................. AREA (in square metres)
Cavelossim.............21,29,068
Varca........................8,05,626
Candolim...............4,40,333
Benaulim................3,51,915
Morjim....................3,44,539
Panaji.......................3,42,682
Sernabatim...............3,25,127
Querim.....................3,23,615
Arossim....................2,91,768
Betalbatim................2,66,605
Calangute..................2,37,276
Velsão........................2,27,025
Utorda........................2,18,196
Poinguinim.................1,76,509
Palolem.......................1,53,695
Arambol......................1,43,460
Colva...........................1,35,801
Pale..............................1,31,934
Cansaulim....................1,12,258
Majorda........................1,07,124
Gonsua.............................91,432
Mandrem..........................87,190
Loliem..............................67,261
Anjuna..............................19,212
Agonda................................9,118
Paliem..................................3,248
PANAJI
The expert committee of the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has recommended a sand dune management plan for Goa which involves rejuvenation, nourishment and restoration of dunes for them to survive and provide ecosystem service benefits for a longer period along with their sustainable utilisation.
The GCZMA expert committee has also recommended establishing a sand dune park on forest department land in Galgibaga-Canacona.
These are some of the findings recommended by the expert committee constituted by the GCZMA for North and South Goa to map, ground truth and appraise representations on dunes following the public hearing on the draft CZMP in July.
The two GCZMA expert committees have identified 75.42 lakh square metres of sand dunes in the State, after each committee conducted intensive ground-truthing over 15 days, between August 12 and September 22, covering 28 coastal villages and towns from Querim-Pernem to Polem-Canacona. Local panchayat and municipal bodies were also consulted in the process.
Acknowledging the fact that tourism contributes to the economy and livelihoods of local communities, the expert committee noted there were several dunes stretches already being utilised for tourism purposes.
Claiming that large tracts of coastline under dunes are bound to have repercussions on the tourism industry, the expert committee opined that maintaining a proper balance between development and the environment and ecology would be the challenge.
While recommending that usage of dune areas already exploited for tourism development ought to continue, the committee suggested a thorough review of the compliance of conditions stipulated in the permissions.
After the public hearings on July 8, the GCZMA constituted various committees to appraise and ground truth the objections and suggestions received during public consultations of the draft CZMP for Goa under CRZ Notification 2011.
Among these, two expert committees – one each for North Goa and South Goa – comprising expert members of GCZMA, were constituted to ground-truth and appraise representations received with respect to sand dunes, high tide lines and any matter not allocated to other committees.
Sujeetkumar Dongre and Mahesh Patil comprised the North Goa committee, while Sávio Correia, Flaviano Miranda and Shrirang Jambhale comprised the South Goa committee. The committees were assisted by a team of legal assistants, engineers and surveyors of GCZMA.
Representations received from village panchayats, municipalities, NGOs and the public concerning dunes & HTL issues were sorted taluka-wise and contents of each communication were analysed, and those requiring ground-truthing were shortlisted.
The experts have indicated that over 70 km of Goa’s 105-km coast comprise sandy beaches (including those within estuaries), all backed by several rows of sand dunes.
Besides the ecological importance, sand dunes are also considered to have economic importance in coastal areas.
The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM) Chennai, a research institute of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has stated that the average economic value of sand dunes is estimated at Rs 82,20,002 per hectare/year and Goa’s sand dunes have an estimated economic value of Rs 861.27 crore/year.
