Coastal ecosystem in India - water allocation resource-wise

Coastal ecosystem presents a delicate equilibrium among different components, viz. estuaries, coral reefs, salt marshes, mangrove swamps, macrophyte dominated regions, continental shelves, etc. at a given time. Among the different factors affecting stability of the ecosystem hydrology is one of the most important ones. Of particular interest should be the need for decreasing subsurface water use for irrigation and other purposes to arrest scope for seawater intrusion into coastal plains. Keeping in view that there is a strong need for conservation and efficient utilization of available water resources as well as their management aspects it is necessary to prepare a vision on resource-wise water allocation for irrigation for the next half century not only from the point of view of higher productivity but also for higher stability of the ecosystem in india. A field water balance approach may be used for detailed analyses based on soil, climate, water, and crop parameters with gradual improvement in cropped areas and inreased efficiency in irrigation and other relevant areas.

Further, to achieve higher efficacy on integrated water management, as followed in a few other countries, concept of coastal watersheds, where all other watersheds drain into, should be introduced in india. Accordingly it should be the primary task to delineate the coastal area within each unit of the watershed identified and estimate the overall water balance for coastal watershed for precision in the management of water. A model may be prepared with time series function of each of the components relevant for the region. The model may not be exhaustive, judging from their nature and extent of diversity and interrelationships, yet it should be worth attempting to use this approach for overall water balance computation although its success depends upon accuracy of the functional relations and intial and boundary conditions in close proximity to the actual.

Finally, it is necessary that a new cadre of policy makers, managers and extension providers for appropriate planning and technology dissemination along with power for governance may be created. It is also important that at the user end power for water rights for communities may be more important than individuals in future.