Community Driven Beach Management Practices: Case Study Velas, Kelshi, Anjarla Villages of India

Abstract

The beaches of Konkan are scenic and attractive from the tourism point of view. At the same time, they are rich in intertidal and marine biodiversity. The same natural resource used by various stakeholders has historically led to conflicts and managerial issues. An important dimension worth noting is that natural resources have their rate of renewability that may not match the price at which they are being harvested. Therefore, in the best interest of all, it is desirable that natural resource depletion is minimised and best management practices are strictly followed. The first step is to identify all possible stakeholders in the management of the concerned natural resource. Secondly, they will have to be made aware of the situation and thirdly, by involving all of them, equitable distribution of funds based firmly on the foundation of sustainable use and resource replenishment is achieved. On this background, this study provides a state of the situation of the beach of three study villages – Velas, Kelshi and Anjarla in Konkan region. In the initial part of this report, an overview of management challenges and policy provisions for beaches is provided. This is followed by a section on the setting of the study villages and study methodology. In the following sections, existing practices related to the beach in the study villages are explained. In the concluding section a brief of beach management in all study villages and follow up action is provided.