Sustainability assessment for coexistence of afforested mangroves and aquafarms upon existing and predicted scenarios: a case study in Southern Tamil Nadu coast.

Coastal stretches abode different features and activities. Among them, mangrove ecosystem is prominent. Mangrove colonies flourishing along the coast stand as the barrier against natural calamities and support the coastal communities by providing livelihood opportunities. Economic benefits from aquaculture trigger its rapid development near the coast in the recent decades. This paper evaluates the present status of mangroves and aquafarms in the coast and harbingers the effects of aquafarm growth in close vicinity of mangroves. The prediction study indicates the increasing pattern of afforested mangroves and the aquafarms in the next decades and elucidates the negative impacts of aquaculture expansion over the flourishing mangroves. Development should be in a sustained way so that the resources will not be affected. Coastal Regulation Zone should be imposed strictly in the sensitive areas like mangroves in order to achieve balance between the conservation of resources and strategic development. Remote sensing and GIS technique were used to assess temporal changes of the features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]