Balancing Development and Environmental Impact in the Coastal Regions

Abstract

Coastal regions are vital component of strategic plan to accelerate economic growth in many of the tropical coastal countries. Nevertheless coastal development is often accompanied by increasing competition between different activities for space within the coastal environment. Consequently the coastal resources are exploited unsustainably causing environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, pollution of soil and water bodies, loss of recreational values, and increase in the vulnerability of coastal areas. This necessitates balancing developmental activities with the normal functioning of coastal ecosystems to promote sustainable development. In this context, interaction among various sectors and activities may be categorized as being synergistic, complementary, competitive, or antagonistic in the developmental process based on the environmental standards and ecological sustainability. The harmonizing strategy involving development and environmental quality aims at maximizing synergistic and complementary interactions, and minimizing competitive and antagonistic ones at the same time regulates different developmental activities to minimize its environmental impact. This chapter discusses these aspects in details with reference to primary, secondary, and service activities taking place in the tropical coastal region.