Coastal zones in integrated river basin management in the West Coast of India: Delineation, boundary issues and implications

The management of the coastal region, its resources and stakeholder rights are treated in isolation from the associated river basins in most of the countries across the world. Incorporating the coastal stretch as an integral part of the basin becomes necessary due to the reciprocal relationships that exist between the coastal 'tail-end' ecosystems and upstream stretches. The present study addresses the challenges involved in integrating the coastal zones into the Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) framework, especially in developing countries like India. As a part of this study, the river basins and their coastal watersheds in the west coast of India, a highly bio-diverse and densely populated region, is delineated using multiple high resolution datasets. A case study of one of the western coastal tracts is also attempted to identify the boundaries that have to be considered in the coastal zones for basin delineation. The ambiguities in the coastal drainage and floodplain boundaries due to the numerous cross-linkages that exist with the neighbouring estuaries, the multitude of small independent coastal catchments and asymmetries between surface and groundwater boundaries present difficulties in undertaking a strict hydrological delineation in the study region. Apart from these natural boundaries, various administrative/political units, coastal management frameworks, resource dependencies and livelihoods present additional boundary concerns for sustainable coastal management within IRBM. Taking these multiple boundaries of the coastal zone into account within the river basin regime becomes essential for resource sharing and legitimate interventions in upstream basin decisions that jeopardise the coastal ecosystem and livelihoods.