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 Asia, based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published during the year 2007 states that

“(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.

Asia will be particularly vulnerable to the climate change , especially major population centers at low elevations. The Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; Tokyo, Japan; and Dhaka, Bangladesh are a few low lying major populations centers that are in a vulnerable situation due to Sea Level Rise. It is reported that five most vulnerable countries with large populations are China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. The impact of climate change on developing nation is highly significant. The implications of these potential effects range from changes in ocean chemistry and forecasted sea level rise on ecosystems, human health and the displacement of coastal peoples.

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.