Integrated coastal zone management plan for Udupi Coast using RS, GIS and GPS

Coastal areas are under great pressure due to increase in human population and industrialization/commercialization and hence these areas are vulnerable to environmental degradation, resource reduction and user conflicts. In the present study an Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan (ICZMP) has been developed for Udupi Coast in Karnataka, along West Coast of India. The various data products used in the present study includes IRS-1C LISS-III + PAN and IRS-P6 LISS III remotely sensed data, Naval Hydrographic Charts and Survey of India (SOI) toposheets, in addition to ground truth data. Thematic maps such as land use/ land cover map, bathymetry map, shoreline configuration map, transportation and drainage network maps, GPS survey map, CRZ map, contour map, DEM, inundation map, critical erosion area map were prepared. A Coastal Vulnerability Index has also been calculated for the study area to know the resistance of study area to sea level rise and is demarcated into four categories; Very high, High, Moderate and Low vulnerability, and a vulnerability map has been prepared. The results of the present study are encouraging. Some of the specific conclusions of the study are; about 50% study area is prone to erosion, river mouths along study area show shifting tendency towards south, and the beaches along the Udupi Coast are maintaining dynamic equilibrium. Coastal Zone Information System (CZIS) has been developed through V.B.6.0 using results of various data analysis.