NFF to observe Action Day on August 9

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The National Fishworkers’ Forum (NFF) will observe Quit India Movement remembrance day on August 9 as ‘action day’ to address the various challenges being confronted by the nine coastal states in the country, including Kerala, in view of the implementation of the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification 2011.The decision was taken at the two-day consultation held in Margoa on July 21 and 22. NFF leaders from nine coastal states, along with scientists, researchers and civil society organisations, participated in the various sessions on climate change impact, the National Action Plan on Climate Change, State Action Plans on Climate Change and the role of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. T Peter, state president of Kerala Swathanthra Matsya Thozhilali Federation (KSMTF), a constituent of NFF, told ‘Express’ that the fishing community would be at the receiving end of adverse climate impacts which include temperature rise in the oceans, increased intensity of disasters such as cyclones and storm surges, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, changing current patterns and depletion of natural resources.All of this will have a profound effect on the 20-million strong fishing community that depends on the coast and the sea for their livelihood, he said. Despite this, the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) does not have any suggestions for the coasts and the fishing community, he said. NFF is of the view that the NAPCC is highly undemocratic, flawed in focus and unresponsive to the urgent challenges raised by climate change, Peter said.The flawed process continues at the state-level as well. While all the 10 coastal states are in the process of finalising their State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCC), the fishing community is yet to be consulted, he said. Further, in some states such as Orissa, the SAPCC mentions that the ‘’equally undemocratic’’ Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project (ICZMP), funded by the World Bank and the Orissa Coastal Zone Management Authority, will handle coastal-related issues on climate change, he said. NFF demands a separate coastal mission as part of the Prime Minister’s National Action Plan on Climate Change. The Rs 990-crore ICZMP is on a pilot phase from 2010 to 2015 in the three coastal states of Gujarat, West Bengal and Orissa. The NFF also demands the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests to make necessary amendments to the CRZ incorporating the views of fishermen, he said.