1. Building Coastal Resilience towards Disasters:
Integration of Coastal Bio-shield and Information Communication
Technology
Project Area: Coastal district of Tamil Nadu
SEEDS Regional Centre, Pulicat
National Consultation on Climate Smart
June 15, 2010 Disaster Risk Management

6. Context and Condition
 Tamil Nadu has a coastline of about 1,076 kms which is about 15% of the
coastal line of India.
 The unique geo conditions of the State make this region the most vulnerable
to natural disasters.
 Tamil Nadu is highly vulnerable to Drought, Cyclones and Floods.
 The coastal area of Bay of Bengal in India is situated in the most vulnerable
zone V of tropical storms and cyclones.
Highly vulnerable ecosystems due to natural disasters like cyclone, heavy
rainfall, flooding and water stagnation, freshwater depletion, shore line
erosion and sea water intrusion etc.

7. Context and Condition……
 The data shows between 1891 to 1990 nearly 262 cyclones (92 severe) in a 50
km wide strip occurred on the East Coast, indicates that on average, a
moderate to severe cyclone hits the Tamil Nadu coast every two years.
 In the year 2005 alone, 9 cyclonic storms crossed Tamil Nadu and Andhra
coast in a three month period.

8. Community Based Coastal Bio-Shields
Mangrove Bio-Shields

9. Community Based Coastal Bio-Shields
Non Mangrove Bio-Shields

10. Bio-Shield (Vegetation Belt)
 Vegetation between sea and living habitat
 Barrier for
 Sea borne calamities
 Shore line erosion
 Storm surge
 Sand dust
 Useful as
 Shelter
 Ecological services - Landscape restoration method, restoration of
sand dunes, ground water source, coastal biodiversity
 Economic value -timber and sand bar cultivation
As expressed by the fisher folks during regular consultation…

11. Identification of Project Site
 Feasibility of establishing Bio-shield in 29 fishing hamlets of Tiruvallur
District and Chennai
 Discussion with the community leaders, fisher women and men of all hamlets
and Panchatyat raj leaders
 Selected five fishing hamlets to start the pilot work

12. Light House Village Panchayat
 The northern most coastal village panchayat of Tamil Nadu
 Consists of 11 hamlets -Communities of Pattinavar, (MBC) traditional
fishing community (predominant), Parayar, (SC) Yanadi (ST), Yadava,
Mudaliar, Muslims all MBC) inhabit.
 Seven Hamlets have rights over the sea shore –located on the beach front
 Five Hamlets acceptance to establish Bio-shield Plantation
 Two though willing technically not-feasible

13. Consultation/Planning with Village Communities
 Discussion with the traditional community
leaders/villagers about the modalities of
establishing bio-shield plantation
 Their earlier experience immediately after
tsunami
 Partial success in four villages
 Failure in other villages – Intervention
limitation

14. Consultation/Planning with Village Communities
 Demands made by the community
 Strong fencing for the plantation
 Support assurance unlike the earlier NGO
 Regular monitoring support till the plants are stabilized by SEEDS

15. Consultation/Planning with Village Communities
 Action plans made along with the community leaders
 Species selection and Space selection
 Compromise on fencing methods
 Post care management like Planting, watering of the tree saplings
 Continuous monitoring as collaborative effort- Communities and Seeds

16. SEEDS Technical Support
 Biophysical Survey
 Suitable area available for plantation
 Existing plant diversity and plant not existing in the area but suitable for
bio-shield
 Available water sources
 Traditional sand dune formation etc
 Agronomic practices for post care management
 Soil fertility, judicious water supply, pest and disease management and
promotion of sand bar cultivation to produce vegetable crops

17. Bio-Shield Planting and Post Care Management

18. Information on Community Bio-Shield
 Multi species
 Casuarinas (1m), Pungamia (4m), Thespesia (4m), Neem(4m), and Coconut (5m)
 Badam and local variety…as requested by the community
 Bio-shield plots
 Identified by the Oor Panchayat
 Maintenance and Management
 Arranged and organized by the Oor Panchayat
 Involving respective villagers and also neighbouring villagers
 Value addition
 Sand bar cultivation (only in two plots)
 Vegetables – Flat beans, Bendi, tomato, brinjal, green and water melon
 Community Responsibility
 Since Dec 2009, village leaders manage and maintain the Bio-shield
 Community bio-shield joint accounts were opened in the local bank
 Village representatives nominated by community leaders operate the account
 Fence Maintenance , plantation monitoring – Community Leader/SEEDS

19. Koonan Kuppam, planted in October 2008
Plots – 4
Area – 11747 sq mts
Casuarinas – 1940
Pungama – 45
Thespesia – 52
Neem – 43
Coconut – 155
Two bores
Watering and safe guarding
Two Yanadi families
50% SEEDS 50% Village

20. TM Nagar, planted in November 2008
Plots – 4
Area – 5694 sq mts
Casuarinas – 1543
Pungama – 69
Thespesia – 55
Neem – 29
Coconut – 108
Two Bores
Watering and safe guarding
Two Yanadi families
80% SEEDS 20% Village

21. Nadu Kuppam, planted in November 2008
Plots – 2
Area – 2232 sq mts
Casuarinas – 873
Pungama – 16
Thespesia – 19
Neem – 16
Coconut – 29
One Bore
Watering and safe guarding
Two Persons
80% SEEDS 20% Village

22. Arangem Kuppam, planted in December
2008, Neem and Coconut in February 2009
Plots – 2
Area – 8088 sq mts
Casuarinas – 1874
Pungama – 45
Thespesia – 62
Neem – 52
Coconut – 67
Two Bores
Watering and safe guarding
9 persons
80% SEEDS 20% Village

23. Vairavan Kupam, planted in December 2008,
Neem and Coconut in January 09
Plots – 2
Area – 7800 sq mts
Casuarinas – 2472
Pungama – 59
Thespesia – 52
Neem – 39
Coconut – 141
Two Bores
Watering and safe guarding
Two Families
80% SEEDS 20% Village

24. Bio-Shield impact during May 2010 “Lyla”
Cyclone

25. Replication of Bio-Shield by Karimanal a non
intervention village
 Self initiated through knowledge about SEEDs intervention
 Community consultation with SEEDS
 Working with the community to make multi species

26. Adding Economic Value to Bio-Shield: Sand
Bar Cultivation model
 In November 2009 Sand bar cultivation was initiated in two plots of
Vairavan Kuppam
 Sand bar cultivation
 Small patch of .75 meter x 1meter size with a depth of .45 meter is dug out
in the sea sand between the trees in the Bio-shield plantation
 Mixture of Red sand and compost manure is filled in it
 Vegetable seeds are sown and grown in these patches

27. Adding Economic Value to Bio-Shield: Sand
Bar Cultivation Model
 Harvest At Vairavan Kuppam South plot
 Brinjal, Bendi, Lap lap, green, tomato and water melon seeds were sown
 In period of three months the yield shared by the villagers
 Bendi – 26 kg around ½ Kg per plant
 Lap lap – 10 kg around 400 gram plant
 Greens – 4 kg for three pits
 Tomato – 8kg around400 gram plant

28. Information Empowerment to promote
community resilience
 Strengthen the resilience of theses communities through effective
knowledge based information through mobile telephony and Village
Information and Knowledge Centre.
 The intervention pertaining to is objective was extended to all the
eleven hamlets of light house village panchayat
 Discussion about the objectives with all the village community leader
 Information need analysis amongst the community
 Fishing, Health, Education and employment, legal
issues, development schemes

29. Mobile Telephony – voice mail based
information empowerment
 On January 26th in partnership with
 IKSL – IFFCO Kisan Sanchar ltd and M.S.Swaminathan Research
Foundation - voice mail broadcast was started
 Had detailed consultation with the local communities
 About 500 green SIM card have been distributed to all the villages and
fishing community network was created

30. Mobile Telephony – Voice Mail based
Information Empowerment
 On time information support - Daily five messages are recorded and
transmitted – weather forecast, market information etc
 Wave direction and height,
 Wind direction and speed,
 Potential Fishing Zones
 Fish prices in other Market
 Information about fisheries schemes, general schemes, health, education
etc
 Feedback – fishermen perceives the information are very useful
 Individuals are approaching for sim card and willing to get in to the
network
 Working on more content generation with regard to Sustainable fisheries
to meet and educate the fishing communities

31. Village Information and Knowledge Center
 Consultation with community leaders and the elected local body
 Community provided the building
 Infrastructure
 Resource material on Fishing resources
 Computer with internet facilities
 A management committee comprising of representatives from all the
eleven hamlets
 Information managers
 Computer literacy
 Environment sustainability
 Community Awareness on disaster risk reduction and climate change

33. At
Present

34. Thank You
SEEDS
15/A First Floor,
Institutional Area,
Sector-IV, R.K. Puram
New Delhi-110022, India
T: 91-11-26174272
www.seedsindia.org