The Institute for Ocean Management has been established to foster knowledge sharing, engage in research and to evolve sustainable management strategies and techniques in coastal and ocean sciences. The Institute promotes capacity building and training needs in the effort to manage and conserve ocean and coastal resources and the livelihood associated with it.

The coastal areas are assuming greater importance in recent years, owing to increasing human population, urbanization and accelerated developmental activities. Extensive human activity makes the coastal ecosystem highly threatened and the concept of integrated coastal zone management has been recognized as a tool for managing the coast. Some of the ICZM based activities carried out by the institute include collection and dissemination of information of all coastal ecosystems, coastal dynamics, geomorphological features existing developmental activities, socio-economic issues of the coast, renewable and non-renewable resources, natural hazards etc.; preparation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plans (ICZMP); training in Coastal Zone Management to officials of the Government and Non-governmental Organization ;activities related to public awareness for conserving coastal resources and research and development in the area of Coastal Zone Management. The IOM has been playing a vital role in planning, development and management of the marine and coastal area resources through research, education and training.

Climate change in coastal ecosystems has been a major research theme at the Institute for Ocean Management for over 15 years. The institute has carried out extensive, continuous and ongoing monitoring and quantification of greenhouse gases from coastal and agricultural areas and has extensive infrastructure facilities for this kind of study. The Institute for Ocean Management carries out extensive pollution monitoring. It also has carried out the assessment of the degree of damage caused by the tsunami. One of the essential services offered to coastal communities by IOM is the dissemination of Potential Fishery Zone (PFZ) information received periodically from the INCOIS, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. The utilization of advanced technologies for the rural communities is being demonstrated through this project. Through this information the search time and cost of fuel has been considerably reduced.

Areas of Research Interest

Researchers at IOM are involved in a diverse range of coastal environment-based research projects spanning biological, chemical and physical sciences and engineering. Current research foci include – global climate change, coastal biogeochemistry, coastal biodiversity and marine ecotoxicology, marine, estuarine and freshwater pollution, GIS and remote sensing applications. Research at IOM is organized into five major thematic areas as detailed below, each of which is coordinated by a thematic group leader

Coastal Ecosystems & Climate Change
Coastal and marine ecosystems are intimately linked to climate. The oceans respond to atmospheric variability and change, often in dramatic ways. These changes may be on multi-year time scales, such as El Niño/La Niña cycles. Although much of the focus of climate change research as an environmental stressor has been on predicting atmospheric and terrestrial changes, comparatively less research has been centered on the effects of climate change on coastal and marine ecosystems. IOM supports interdisciplinary, long-term research programs, investigating how oceanic and coastal ecosystems respond to climate variability and change. Research on this theme is designed to develop a predictive understanding of variability and change in the global climate system, through a suite of process research, observations and modeling, and application and assessment activities.

Coastal Pollution Monitoring & Hazards
Human activities place significant stress on coastal ecosystems. Toxic contaminants and excessive levels of nutrients are released into coastal waters directly or via long-range atmospheric and oceanic pathways. Excessive input of nutrients in coastal waters causes unwanted algal growth, oxygen depletion, and altered food chains or species composition. One of the primary ways IOM addresses pollution is through the National River Conservation Programme of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, through which IOM conducts long-term monitoring of pollutants and contaminants in the major waterways and sewage treatment plants. The program also documents the nature and severity of the effects associated with coastal ecosystems.

The other most significant aspect of research is on coastal hazards. IOM organizes several training programs on Community-based hazard map development for the Tsunami affected coastal communities. It is intended to aid the officials of the Government of India and the NGOs, who in turn would work with the local people to help reduce their vulnerability to coastal and other natural hazards. Although the majority of the reported tsunamis are from littoral countries of the Pacific Ocean, there are a few cases of tsunamis in the Indian Ocean. Research is currently on at IOM, to study the historical records of individual tsunami flood events, which have important implications for disaster frequency, preplanning and coastal vulnerability reduction.

Integrated Coastal Management
Coastal nations around the world constantly exchange their know-how and technology to implement Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programmes. This includes the development of strategies addressing short-term problems as well as long-term challenges, like adaptation to climate change. IOM specializes in offering training and academic programmes in collaboration with national and international organisations in ICM. IOM is involved in preparing Coastal Management Plans for the coastal states of Orissa, Andaman Islands and Tamil Nadu.

Some of the key aspects of ICM that IOM imparts include:
• Development of integrated water- and coastal zone management programmes
• Research, planning, implementation and evaluation of measures against pollution, erosion and degradation of coastal areas
• Maintenance and restoration of biodiversity
• Identification of responses to the effects of climate change
• Development of ICZM concepts and tools for training and decision making
• IOM works closely with stakeholders (public, state agencies, industry etc) living and working in the coastal zone with the aim of promoting the implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management

GIS-Remote Sensing and Database
IOM in collaboration with the Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management (ICMAM) Project Directorate, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India; has developed tools to facilitate the monitoring, management, development and conservation of coastal, estuarine and marine habitats through the creation of a comprehensive database of shoreline features. Maps, reports and statistics have been generated to assist planners, managers, and regulators in decisions pertaining to development, management and conservation of coastal areas and its natural resources.

Environmental Impact Assessment
IOM has extensive experience preparing Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) for development projects. A team comprising physicists, chemists, biologists, geologists and coastal engineers; examine the existing site conditions using the best available technology and resources and evaluate the potential environmental impacts of proposed development projects. Innovative planning technologies such as GIS and modeling are used to fulfill the Client's individual goals, while protecting and enhancing valuable resources, using the guidelines prescribed by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. Throughout the EIA process, a specialist team offers insightful multi-criteria recommendations to meet environmental standards while enhancing opportunities for development. Measuring air, water, sediment, and noise quality are essential components of any EIA and follow up monitoring programmes concerned with understanding coastal and marine processes and assessing the health status of the aquatic environment. Marine and terrestrial ecosystems such as coral reefs, sea grass beds, wetlands, dunes, and maritime forests are also surveyed and documented.

Brief Write up of Most Successful Research Projects:

Human induced climate change by the production of greenhouse gases (primarily CH4 and N2O) due to forestation/deforestation has emerged as an environmental issue related to the global warming problem because forests and especially mangrove wetlands are possible sinks/sources for carbon dioxide and other related greenhouse gases. An increase in atmospheric concentration of such gases warms the Earth’s surface and the lower atmosphere and is thought to be the largest anthropogenic factor contributing to global warming. Estimation of the balances and fluxes of CH4 and N2O, the two key anthropogenically altered gases have become necessary, as these gases are normally released from wetlands, are important in order to evaluate the offsetting effects of these greenhouse gases against CO2 sequestration by mangrove coastal ecosystems. IOM undertakes an integrated and comprehensive study of climatically active trace gases dynamics focused on mangrove ecosystems, to maintain Indian research in this field at international competitive level. The Institute brings together cross-cutting scientific issues, working on different ecosystems (mangroves and coral reefs) and on different aspects of climatically active trace gases atmospheric fluxes (distribution, biogeochemical drivers, gas transfer velocity and future evolution under environmental changes). IOM’s ongoing/planned research initiatives provide estimates of fluxes of climatically active trace gases in mangrove ecosystems that have been under-sampled and neglected so far in global budgets.
The emission from mangrove sediments of the natural occurring greenhouse gases methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) seems to be highly variable from one site to another.

Fluxes of CH4 and N2O have been estimated from several Indian mangroves (Pichavaram, Muthupet, Adyar, Andaman Islands etc). Our study confirms mangroves as sources of CH4 and N2O and highlights the importance of mangrove roots as transport pathways for these gases to the atmosphere. Therefore, it is essential to consider the diverse vegetation and root types among mangroves in order to be able to predict the cumulative emissions from mangroves on a global scale. In addition, precise evaluation of carbon-based greenhouse gases in mangrove forests and sediments is essential to quantify carbon credits generated by “carbon sink” enhancement forestation using the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) framework of the Kyoto Protocol ratified in 2002.

2. Integrated Coastal Management Plan Preparation and Vulnerability Mapping for the Indian Coast

The coastal stretch between Puri to Konark experiences many human impacts and is under constant threat of Natural hazards including cyclonic storms.
Densely populated cities of Puri and Konark, Orissa, India, located in the Coastal Regulation Zone – I and II are highly vulnerable to coastal hazards. An effort has been made to map this coastline using the GIS and Remote Sensing. Factors such as shoreline changes, bathymetry and slope-derived from DEM have been integrated with wave height, wind speed, direction and SLR. The resultant vulnerable zones of different magnitude like very high, high, moderate and low have been overlaid with digitized parcels of cadastral maps. This overlay process helps in precisely classifying buildings and properties, based on their vulnerability to natural hazards, which results in flooding of river and sea water inundation. The project is currently underway and the methodology will be adopted for the entire Indian coastline in the near future.