The Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, is being notified and published. The 1991 Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification was superseded in January 2011 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests' most recent CRZ notification. The rationale given for separating mainland coastal areas from island coastal environments was the unique nature of the island environment and social structure, which required a different strategy than the mainland. This article will explain to you about Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011 which will be helpful in preparing the Environment Syllabus for the UPSC Civil Service exam.

Island Protection Zone Notification 2011 - Objectives

• To ensure the livelihood security of coastal fishing communities, tribals, and other local communities;
• To conserve and protect coastal stretches, and
• To promote sustainable development based on scientific principles, while taking into account the dangers of natural hazards in coastal areas and sea level rise due to global warming.

Need for a separate Island Protection Zone Notification 2011

• Andaman and Nicobar have about 500 islands, while Lakshadweep has about 30. Some of the country's most thriving biodiversity hotspots can be found in these two groups of oceanic islands.
• The A&N Islands are known for their terrestrial and marine biodiversity, including a forest area that covers 85 percent of the geographical area of Andaman and Nicobar, while Lakshadweep is a coral island.
• Because the geographical areas of these islands are so small, the 500-metre Coastal Regulation Zone regulations overlap in most cases.
• As a result, a separate Notification is being issued that addresses the management of the entire island (except for four A&N islands: North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, and Great Nicobar).

Island Protection Zone Notification - Salient Features

• For the first time, an Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, is being announced and published.
• This notification, reconciles three objectives: the protection of traditional fisherfolk communities' livelihoods, the preservation of coastal ecosystems, and the encouragement of economic activity that must be based in coastal zones.
• The IPZ only applies to the islands of Andaman and Nicobar, as well as Lakshadweep.
• The IPZ management is divided into two categories, each with differing constraints on the activities and industries that can be established or run.
  • Island Coastal Regulation Zone (ICRZ)
  • Integrated Islands Management Plans (IIMPs)
• The IPZ includes more traditional local human dwellings and fishing operations, as well as increased allowances for tourism-related infrastructure development on the islands.

Island Coastal Regulation Zone (ICRZ)

• The Island Coastal Regulation Zone includes the coastal stretches of the eight larger oceanic islands in Andaman and Nicobar, namely Middle Andaman, North Andaman, South Andaman, Great Nicobar, Baratang, Havelock, Little Andaman, and Car Nicobar Islands, as well as the water area up to the country's territorial water limits.
• The ICRZ shall apply to the land area between HTL and 20 metres or the width of the stream, whichever is greater.
• The distance between the ICRZ and the tidal impact water bodies thus identified shall be delineated in the Island Coastal Zone Management Plan.
• The ICRZ's coastal stretches are divided into four zones: ICRZ 1, 2, 3, and 4.
• The ICRZ Plans depict these zones, with different activities permitted or prohibited depending on the zone.
• The following activities are strictly prohibited within the ICRZ 1, 2, 3 and 4 areas, and no exceptions can be made-
  • Sand mining in and around endemic and endangered species' nesting and breeding grounds
  • Disposal of solid wastes such as fly ash, industrial waste, medical waste, and non-biodegradable waste
  • Shore protection works (hard constructions) on the seaward side of corals and mangroves
  • Untreated sewage or effluent disposal
  • Industries in the red category located within ten kilometres of ecologically sensitive areas.

Integrated Islands Management Plans (IIMPs)

• IIMPs (Integrated Islands Management Plans) are created and executed for the Union Territories' smaller islands.
• The Integrated Island Management Plan is intended to address human life and property vulnerability and to indicate suitable areas that are safe for locating houses, infrastructure, and the like, as well as to incorporate appropriate safeguards measures to protect the life and property of local communities and other infrastructure from natural hazards.
• With a ten-year time horizon, Integrated Island Management Plans must cover all current and future projects, conservation and preservation programmes.
• IIMPs should comprise areas identifying all current and projected developments, conservation and preservation plans (within a 10-year timescale), residences, infrastructure projects such as schools, marketplaces, hospitals, and public amenities, among other things.
• Developmental operations on these islands are included into the IIMPs in line with the rules, regulations, and building by-laws of local town and country planning that are now in effect in the Islands.

New Island Rules: IPZ 2019

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has declared Andaman and Nicobar an Island Protection Zone (IPZ) for 2019.
• The IPZ changes are in line with Niti Aayog's concept for holistic development in the Islands.
• The government intends to promote the blue economy and the sustainable use of maritime resources.
• It permits ecotourism projects up to 20 metres from the high tide line (HTL) on smaller islands such as Baratang, Havelock, and Car Nicobar.
• On bigger islands, 50 metres from the HTL is allowed.
• It permits ecotourism activities such as mangrove walks, tree houses, and nature trails in the island coastal regulation zone (ICRZ).
• In eco-sensitive zones, the notice also permits for the building of roadways, including highways on stilts, by reclaiming land in rare situations for defence installations, public utilities, or strategic goals.
• If such roads are built through mangroves, at least three times the mangrove area destroyed during construction must be taken up for compensating mangrove planting elsewhere.

Concerns Regarding Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011

• It brings the norms for Andaman and Nicobar to the same level as the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) 2018 norms for other islands close to the mainland and backwater islands where a No Development Zone (NDZ) is only 20 metres from the high tide line (HTL).
• Previously, IPZ 2011 mandated a 200-meter NDZ from the HTL for all islands.
• Only pipelines, transmission lines, and trans-harbor links could be built in the eco-sensitive zone. Road construction is now permitted.

Conclusion

The IPZ notice derives its essence from the earlier CRZ 1991 notification, the major purpose of which is to prohibit uncontrolled and unregulated development in vulnerable coastal ecosystems such as islands. An Island Protection Zone Notification, 2011, including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep, is being notified and published for the first time.