Poverty reduction is increasingly the central focus of both international and national development targets. One of the key targets of the Millennium Development Goals calls for reducing the proportion of people living on less than $1 a day to half the 1990 level by 2015 -- from 29 percent of all people in low and middle income economies to 14.5 percent.

The South Asia region has very high percentages of poor in the population, particularly in India and Bangladesh. People living in coastal areas are particularly subject to poverty because of their vulnerability to shocks such as flood, cyclones and inundation of sea water. Many of these people have lost their physical assets in the past due to natural disasters. Landlessness is widespread and this limits people’s access to livelihood opportunities. Many are fisher folk and these have been specifically identified as one of the poorer groups in South Asia.

The coastal areas of Bangladesh is different from rest of the country not only because of its unique geo-physical characteristics but also for different socio-political consequences that often limits people’s access to endowed resources and perpetuate risk and vulnerabilities.

Puttalam lagoon, located in the western coast of the North Western Province in Sri Lanka, is rich in biodiversity. However, the mangrove and fisheries ecosystems in the lagoon area have been threatened by increased population pressure and industrial activities. Poor communities in the lagoon area depend on the ecosystems for their livelihood activities and the pressure on the ecosystems are believed to be exceeding beyond the sustainable levels.

This working paper is about changes in the coast and their impact on the livelihoods of the poor, how the poor and the development agencies have responded to those changes, and what can be done to sustainably enhance and diversify the livelihoods of the poor.

Viet Nam’s coastal waters feature high biodiversity and rich fishery resources. The selected study site, Nha Phu Lagoon, is characterized by massive degradation of coastal fishery resources. As a result, rural livelihoods in coastal communities are threatened. Since households in these communities not only depend on coastal resources but also have various other forms of income outside the fishery sector, a multi-sectoral approach is necessary.

The Project will support the Government’s efforts to address the critical issues of sustainable management of marine and coastal resources. The salient activities of the Project include

(i) develop an institutional framework for integrated coastal resources management (ICRM), address policy weaknesses and legal gaps, clarify roles of national government agencies concerned and local governments, and address their capacity-building needs;

The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide an update on recent project preparation developments in the Karachi, Thatta and Baadin areas.

This concept paper is a preparation study for the Sida's Marine and Coastal Zone Initiative. It describes countrywise the state of fisheries in eastern and southern Africa and in southeast Asia. Suggestions are made for future cooperation between Sida and developing countries for sustainable coastal management. Seminars/training courses in coastal sciences and demonstration sites are proposed for an integrated management of coastal zones. Technical advice is further proposed for strengthening international management of fisheries through regional fishery management bodies.

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This report highlights the status, issues, and threats to the coastal and marine environment and the direct and indirect links to human welfare essential for policy decisions to manage natural resources in a sustainable and effective manner. State of the Coast Report 2003 is an update, but it is not just a new edition of the same material.

There will be familiar sections to those who have read the previous edition, but there are also new areas of interest and new issues that have come to the forefront. These changes reflect the evolving environment in which coastal management takes place.

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http://dec.usaid.gov