Small island management: a case study of the Smith Island, North Andaman, India
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Small island management: a case study of the Smith Island, North Andaman, India R. Sridhar1 · V. Sachithanandam1 · T. Mageswaran1 · Manik Mahapatra1 · K. O. Badarees1 · R. Purvaja1 · R. Ramesh1 Received: 1 February 2018 / Accepted: 6 December 2019 © Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of the Indian waters are endowed with rich natural resources which support the inhabitants of the islands for their economic, environmental and cultural well-being. It is important that the islands are conserved and protected for its unique environment and also managed sustainably for the livelihood security of the island communities. A major challenge in the protection of these small islands is lack of a holistic management plan by the local administration that integrates the special environmental concerns of islands. To address these lacunae, an attempt was made to prepare a small island management plan of Smith Island of North Andaman as a case study. The island management plan was prepared through analyzing the current status of land use and land cover features, ecologically sensitive areas, possible development and hazard perception of the island. The areas for development and no development, areas for preservation and conservation and suggestions for ecotourism development are indicated in the plan. The plan also provides information on the wildlife species and its impact on resources. The study also discusses mitigation measures in the climate change scenario. Keywords Sustainable development · Small island management · Andaman and Nicobar · Smith Island · Wildlife
1 Introduction Small islands are poorly represented in global assessments of research priorities but are recognized as having extraordinary biological diversity and vulnerable to climate change impacts and having cultural connections to land and sea (Kingsford et al. 2009; Brodie et al. 2013). For sustainable development of small islands, there is a need for medium- and long-term plans that take into consideration the multiple uses of resources, integrating environmental concerns with economic and sectoral planning and policies (Rio Declaration on Environment and Development 1992). One of the basic recommendations emanating from * R. Sridhar [email protected]; [email protected] 1
National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India, Anna University Campus, Chennai 600 025, India
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the historic Earth Summit (United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)) was that national management of coasts and oceans (including Exclusive Economic Zones) should be ‘integrated into content and precautionary in ambit’ (Cicin-Sain 1993). It further specifies activities such as studying of environmental and developmental characteristics of islands; inventory of natural resources; measures for maintenance of cultural and biological diversity; addressing the environmental, social and economic impacts of climate chan
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