Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: With the tourism season approaching, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has commissioned the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) to conduct a new study assessing the carrying capacity of the state’s beaches. The detailed evaluation aims to guide future decisions on the number of temporary tourism-related structures, such as beach shacks and tents, that can be allowed without harming the coastal ecosystem.
Sources revealed that GCZMA has formally issued a work order to NIO for the comprehensive study, which will factor in ecological constraints, existing no development zones, and CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) norms. The findings will help determine shack density limits and provide recommendations based on current saturation levels, as well as the need to protect sensitive environments such as estuaries, creeks, and river mouths.
The last such assessment was conducted in 2017 by the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), which had recommended a total of 1,131 beach shacks for the entire coastline. In reality, however, only about 360 shacks are permitted annually. NCSCM had advised that only 33 per cent of the usable beach area should be allocated for shack installation, excluding ecologically vulnerable zones and areas required for public access or traditional fishing activity. It had also recommended a review of the study every five years, prompting the current initiative.
The new study will also incorporate the Goa government’s proposal to permit temporary tourism structures in no development zones along coastal stretches and riverbanks, barring eco-sensitive areas identified in the Coastal Zone Management Plan (CZMP) 2011 and the CRZ 2019 notification.
GCZMA plans to adhere to the principles laid down by NCSCM in the previous study while calculating capacity for shacks, huts, cottages, and tents on privately surveyed lands. The exercise is expected to serve as a crucial guideline for regulating beach tourism in an ecologically sustainable manner.
