Enhancing climate resilience of India’s coastal communities

Protecting and restoring the natural ecosystems of India’s coastal zone to strengthen the climate resilience of coastal communities.

India’s coastline is expected to be among the most affected by climate change. Climate change impacts such as extreme weather events and sea level rise are exacerbated by urbanisation, overfishing, and poorly planned coastal development. This means that approximately 250 million people (14 percent of the country’s population) who live within 50 kilometres of coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to climate change. 

This project will strengthen the climate resilience of coastal communities by protecting and restoring India’s natural ecosystems such as mangroves and seagrass, which are essential for buffering against storm surges. The project will also support climate-adaptive livelihoods and value chains to increase the climate resilience of these coastal communities. The project will be implemented in 24 target ecosystems in 12 coastal districts across the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Odisha.

The project’s ecosystem restoration benefits have an estimated lifespan of 30 years.