Indo-Norwegian Collaboration Project on Ecosystem Services and Accounting (INECO)
INECO (Indo-Norwegian Collaboration Project on Ecosystem Services and Accounting) is part of the Indo-Norway Integrated Ocean Management and Research Initiative. This is a collaborative project between NIVA and the National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences) in India. The aim is to develop capacity and expertise for ecosystem services and accounting to support the blue economy and linked ocean accounting in India.
- Project period
- -
- Funders
- Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi
- Total budget (NOK)
- 10,750,000
- Research section
- International environment and development
- Contact persons
-
Hans Nicolai Adam
Santiago de la Puente Jeri
Maximilian Nawrath
Sindre Langaas
Diya Chakravorty
Paul Ragnar Berg
Laura Friedrich
Amy-Kristine Andersen
Karoline Slettebø Arvidsson
About the project
BACKGROUND:
Coastal zones play an important role in many countries, but coastal areas across the globe are facing multiple threats that heighten the vulnerability of communities residing along its shoreline, and the environments they depend on.
It is estimated that about 37 % of the global population lives in coastal zones and communities. Coastal ecosystems provide an important natural capital base for countries’ blue economies and are critical for supporting the livelihoods and wellbeing of local communities.
Coastal zones host a diverse range of habitats such as mangrove forests, saltmarshes, seagrass beds, kelp forests, coral reefs, and beaches. The resources and services that coastal ecosystems provide range from food (e.g., fish, shellfish, algae) and raw materials (e.g. wood from mangroves), to coastal protection from storms and floods, regulation of water quality and opportunities for tourism and recreation. Coastal ecosystems also play a critical role in mitigating global climate change and securing resilience of coastal communities to the impacts of climate change.
INDIA:
India has a coastline that is about 7517 km long, with 5423 km located around the mainland and 2094 km in various islands (e.g Lakshadweep, Andaman, and Nicobar). India’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers 2,305,143 km², spread across 9 maritime bordering states, 2 Union territories and 2 Islands territories. More than 150 million people in India are directly or indirectly dependent on coastal ecosystems and the various services they provide.
Among the many threats that these areas face are interlinked socio-ecological processes that encompass, for example, climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and development pressures (e.g., from tourism to urbanization).
Given the large number of people dependent on coastal resources, the protection of ecological systems and development of mitigation measures is also important for food security and climate change adaptation.
OBJECTIVE:
The main objective of the INECO project is to develop capacity and expertise for ecosystem services and accounting to support the blue economy and linked ocean accounting in India.
LOCATION:
Case study of the Coringa mangrove ecosystem.