December 2007 Edition
Rina Mukherji
Panaji
GOA’S golden beaches are lined with shanties and
garbage. Sand dunes, once the hallmark of Goa’s
seaside, are disappearing. everybody agrees
tourism is responsible. Goa has a population of 1.3 million
but it gets 1.6 million tourists every year.
Sand dunes are nature’s first defence against the
mighty sea. Rows of dunes protect the hinterland from
fierce winds and prevent erosion. As sea levels begin to
rise because of global warming, sand dunes will be
needed more than ever. There is also the lurking danger
of tsunamis.
While erosion is eating away coastlines, tourist footfalls have flattened sand dunes at Miramar, Panaji’s city beach. Beautification drives by municipal authorities removed vegetation instead of encouraging it. Sand on the beach had nothing to hold it down. Gusts of sand would blow on to the road alongside. There were times when roads around Miramar Circle had to be closed since there was the threat of accidents due to windblown sand. City authorities spent a lot of money on men and machines to clear the road of sand. “We had to spend Rs 10 lakhs annually,” says Elvis Gomez, Municipal Commissioner. Gomez and the municipal corporation then approached the National Institute of Oceanography for help. Dr Antonio Mascarenhas, a geological oceanographer, has been studying sand dunes since some time. Talks proved fruitful and Gomez and Mascarenhas started work on India’s first sand dune regeneration project. Dr Mascarenhas advised the municipal corporation to place fences at regular intervals for sand dune regeneration. Accordingly, fences were constructed with puttees separated by gaps so that sand would blow through and subsequently deposit on the other side.
To prevent people from walking on the regenerated sand dunes, gaps were left in between fences. The sand fences were meant to intercept and trap windblown sand over a considerable stretch along the front end of the beach. By July, three months after the project started, little sand dunes started forming. In October, creepers like Ipomoea and Lantana began growing on the infant dunes. Of course, a lot remains to be done. As Dr Mascarenhas says: “The corporation has kept too many gaps between the fences. These need to be fewer, so that a linear sand dune with ample vegetation is regenerated with minimal human interference. The puttees should also be arranged a little more apart for greater deposition and faster growth of dunes.” Gomez intends to correct these aberrations in collaboration with Dr Mascarenhas. The municipal corporation is eager to move into the second phase of the project. They will then create a progressive triangular pattern of vegetation which is normally found on undisturbed beaches. Dr Kasturi Desai, a botanist and an expert on sand dune vegetation explains: “Coastal sand dune vegetation has a herbaceous pioneer zone with creepers, a mid-shore zone of herbs and shrubs with comparatively deeper root systems, and a backshore zone with large trees that have deep roots like casuarinas and coconut palms.” Embryonic dunes are nearest to the sea. These are just above the high tide level and are formed by sand delivered to the beach by waves. You can find creepers like Ipomoea, Spinifex and Lantana on embryonic dunes.
Mid-shore dunes generally have shrubs. Hind shore dunes have trees with long root systems, growing along the line of vegetation. Casuarinas and coconut palms form most of the vegetation here.“Dune vegetation is highly adapted to salt-laden coastal winds. It traps sand blown up from the beach and helps repair the damage inflicted on dunes by natural phenomena or by human impact,” said Dr Desai. In the second phase of the project, shrubs, wind breaking casuarinas and coconut trees will be planted along the line of vegetation. Entry by tourists will be restricted. Once vegetation grows lush, Dr Mascarenhas feels walkovers should be built over sand dunes so that visitors don’t destroy them. This has been done in Europe, for instance, in Portugal. “Sand dunes will not just beautify the beach but will also protect human habitations from calamities like storm surges or tsunamis. Dunes can limit damage,” said Dr Mascarenhas.
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