Coastal Ecosystem and Sustainable Livelihood

About the Book

Most of India’s poorest people live in rural areas, and are almost totally reliant on natural resources for their food, shelter, income and overall livelihood. They are already experiencing the impacts of environmental change, with few resources available to help them to cope.

Odisha is one of the poorest state in India with over 47 per cent of its rural population below poverty line. Almost half of all adult women and three quarters of all children under the age of three in the state are undernourished (Food Security and Agricultural Projects Analysis Service : 2007). Environment change promises to be harbinger of increased pauperization and marginalization for the already disadvantaged men, women and children in the coastal Odisha

The coastal districts of Odisha are also under tremendous socio-economic and environmental pressure due to large-scale shrimp farming particularly after 1991 trade liberalization (Pradhan and Flaherty: 2008). Coastal ecosystem which typically includes wetlands, mangroves, and estuaries, are very fragile environments. The excavation of shrimp ponds, construction of service roads, and discharge of shrimp pond effluents into fresh water areas among other things can have significant impact on these resources, In turn, the degradation of coastal area due to introduction of shrimp farming can have a negative impact on the source of income of the local people who depend on these resources as well as agricultural activities for their livelihoods.

In this context, this book explains and examines the various socio-economic and environmental factors associated with the living condition and livelihood of the poor people in rural coastal belt of Odisha. A major part of the book also focus on the external impacts of shrimp farming which is largely undertaken by the people in the coastal belt, particularly after 1991 Economic Refoms.

About the Author

Aparajita Biswal (b. 1976) is currently an Assistant Professor of Economics, post Graduate Department of Analytical & Applied Economics, Utkal University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. She has 16 years of teaching and research experience including guiding scholars at M.Phil and Ph.D Level. She has published four books and completed three projects funded by UGC and Ministry of Finance, Government of India. About twenty research papers of the author are published in different journals and edited volumes of national and international repute. She is a member of the editorial board of the Journal Utkal Economic Paper. Her core areas of teaching interests are micro economic analysis, Welfare theories, Mathematical Economics, Agricultural Economics, Issues of Gender and Development. The interest areas of research are Social Sector and Gender.