Introduction
The oceanic processes have a
prominent role in the global hydrologic cycle and climate system. It provides most of the water vapor, the leading
green house gas to the atmosphere and maintains fresh water balance of the continents. The interactions and inter dependence of
ocean –atmosphere-cryosphere-land are fundamental
elements of the life supporting system of earth. The ocean and coastal areas influence all
sectors of the global economy. It is
the only source of protein for 1-2 billion people. The human presence,
influence and touch had been reached –in every parts of the ocean. The growing
contributions of human generated emissions as a by-product of industrialization
are responsible for forcing the “green house effect”. The global warming due to
above green house gas is triggering and further accelerating the amplitude of
climate variability and rate of climate change.
This will cause increasing pressure on the ability of ecosystems and
human society to adapt.
There is growing concern and
passion towards climate change. It is considered that the impact of climate
change will be felt most readily by the developing world. It is observed that climate change can
increase severe droughts, heat waves, storms, flooding, cyclone activity, shift
in climate zones and seasonality, increased sea level, temperature, humidity
and precipitation. There are concerns,
risk and issues related to food security, coastal area habitats and related
ecosystem due to climate change.
The security of coastal
population is in a risk due to the sea level rise and increased intensity and
frequency of storms. The green house
effect on the impact of hydrological cycle will cause increasing scarcity of
fresh water in the coastal region. The
climate change will have a variety of impacts on agriculture, human health,
biodiversity, coastal areas and water stress, which will vary by region. A
preliminary assessment of expected regional impacts in
“(i)
In parts of Asia, crop yield will decrease between 2.5 to 10 % by the year
2020s and 5 to 30 % in 2050s;(ii) 120 million to 1200 million people experience
increased water stress by 2020s and 185 million to 981 million people by 2050s;
(iii) predicted significant sea level rise results in greater risk of flooding
and sea water intrusion, loss of coral reefs estimated at 24% in the next ten
years and 30% within thirty years; (iv) increase in coastal water temperatures
could lead to causes of cholera in South Asia, increase in mortality caused by
diarrhea disease in East, South and
South–East Asia; (v) within next 20-30 years,
glacier melt in Himalayas will lead to increased flooding and avalanches
and reduced river flows and increased
extinction rates.
It is essential to strengthen
the linkages between climate, hazards, community resilience and climate
adaptation. The climate change is to be
predicted on a regional scale. This requires
improved observations, modeling and forecasting. The increased local relevancy of climate
information will be highly useful to local decision makers. It is critical to provide clear and
understandable information upon which are to be based local adaptation
decisions. The improved risk assessment tools are to be developed by linking
climate change variables to more local and immediate risks associated with
extreme events. The tools and
information resources are to be developed for use in assessing resilience at
the community scale. The most
appropriate indicators of resilience across physical, social, economic and
environmental systems of communities are to yet identified.