Will a rising sea sink Gujarat's business plans?

Jumana Shah in DNA India: The strength of Gujarat, its 1,600 km long coastline, is also emerging as a big threat for its development in the years to come. …. Even as investment worth millions has already been pledged at various strategic points across the coast, the Gujarat government it seems now is sincerely trying to understand the specific impacts global warming can have in these areas.

During his recent visit to Gujarat, union environment minister Jairam Ramesh had told DNA that planning for the future now absolutely has to be done with elaborate research on how Sea Level Rise (SLR) will impact it in years to come. “It is no more a question of if, only a question of when,” he said. This, he insisted, is despite the IPCC's projections of Himalayan glaciers melting by 2035 coming undone.

It is not without reason good reason that Gujarat is the only state as yet to have founded a dedicated department for Climate Change. At the risk of learning uncomfortable truths, a major study has been commissioned by the state government to map the vulnerability index of the coastal eco-system. The final findings of this study are expected to be submitted in about three years, but interim results are expected at the end of one year. ….

At a workshop on climate change organised recently by the state's premier research agency GEC in Gandhinagar, former ISRO scientist Dr Vijay K Agarwal told DNA that the Vulnerability Index will help in identifying places where development work could be undertaken and which areas would be harmful…

…A few minutes later, his presentation showed to a group of around 30 government officials some shocking satellite images seen here — a projection of how Gujarat will be affected by sea-level rise….
The state of Gujarat, it is projected, will result into three virtual islands — Mainland consisting of North, Central and South Gujarat; second island of a much reduced land mass of Kutch and the third, what we now know as Saurashtra. ….

A satellite view of Gujarat, via NASA